Antibody molecules and uses thereof

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to recombinant human antibody molecules. The antibodies bind fungal antigens, for example from  Candida  spp. Human antibody encoding genes targeting clinically relevant  Candida  epitopes have been isolated from single B cells from carefully selected donors and screened with specified types of protein or cell wall extract. The panel of purified, fully human recombinant IgG1 mAbs generated displayed a diverse range of specific binding profiles and demonstrated efficacy in a disease model. The fully human mAbs and derivatives thereof have utility in the generation of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.

This patent application is a national stage filing under 35 U.S.C. 371of International Application No. PCT/GB2016/050577, filed Mar. 4, 2016,which claims the benefit of priority of United Kingdom PatentApplication No. 1503812.8, filed Mar. 6, 2015, both of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to recombinant human antibody molecules. Theantibodies bind fungal antigens, for example from Candida spp. Suchantibody molecules find use in the treatment, diagnosis and/or detectionof fungal infections.

BACKGROUND ART

Fungi cause 3 million life-threatening infections each year, killingmore people than tuberculosis and as many people as malaria (1). To makeinroads into these high disease burdens and mortality figures, betterdiagnostics, treatments and fungal vaccines are urgently required.

Candida species collectively account for the majority of serious fungalinfections and represent the fourth leading cause ofhealthcare-associated infections in the US (1, 2). Candida albicans is acommon human commensal and the most prevalent fungal opportunisticpathogen (3). C. albicans is polymorphic, phenotypically variable andgenetically diverse. Impairment of host immunity, due to mutation,pharmacological or surgical intervention, trauma or alteration in thenatural microbiota, determines the frequency and severity of disease(4). Late diagnosis of invasive candidiasis using ‘gold standard’ bloodculture methodologies and limitations in the versatility and accuracy ifsome diagnostic tests contribute to the overall poor prognosis and highmortality rates associated with septicaemia and invasive fungal disease(5-7).

Existing classes of antifungals are effective against infection but tendto have relatively narrow spectra of activity that means that informedtherapy is predicated on accurate diagnosis (2, 8).

There are currently no vaccines for fungal infection in the clinicalthough experimental vaccines based on fungal cell wall targets are inpre-clinical development (20, 22-27). These include the investigationalvaccine NDV-3 based on a recombinant fragment of the Als3 cell walladhesin which has now entered phase II clinical trials for recurrentvulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) (26, 28) and a Candida-specific vaccinebased on the recombinant N-terminal fragment of the Hyr1 proteinexpressed on C. albicans hyphae which has shown efficacy in a murinemodel of disseminated candidiasis (23, 29). These experimental vaccinesexert their protective effects by eliciting neutralising and/orprotective antibodies (23).

Protective monoclonal antibody (mAbs) for clinically relevant fungi havebeen reported (15-17). A number of protective mAbs targeting pan fungaland species-specific epitopes have been isolated, which are almostexclusively murine in origin, and generated via hybridoma technology(15, 18-22).

Increased mAb research in the field of mycotic disease has also led toprogress in mAb-based diagnostics including the Aspergillus-specific mAbJF5 for the detection of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA), a C.albicans germ tube antibody (CAGTA) for deep-seated Candida infectionand a new cryptococcal dipstick antigen test (30-33).

Nevertheless it can be seen that novel sources of diagnostic andtherapeutic reagents targeting fungal pathogens would provide acontribution to the art.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention seeks to provide novel diagnostics andtherapeutics for fungal infections, through a mAb-based approach usingC. albicans as the model organism.

The inventors have isolated human antibody encoding genes targetingclinically relevant Candida epitopes from single B cells that werederived from donors with a history of mucosal Candida infectionsscreened with recombinant Candida albicans Hyr1 cell wall protein orwhole fungal cell wall extracts. The panel of purified, fully humanrecombinant IgG1 mAbs generated displayed a diverse range of specificbinding profiles to other pathogenic fungi and demonstrated efficacy ina murine model of disseminated candidiasis. The fully human mAbs haveutility in the generation of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.

In various aspects of the invention there are provided isolatedrecombinant human anti-Candida antibody molecule derived from single Bcells, for example which specifically bind Candida cells or morespecifically C. albicans hyphae.

Preferred antibody molecules have CDRs, FWs, VH and VL domains havingsequences set out in Tables A-R, each Table being the sequence of one ofthe 18 antibodies of the Examples, or derivatives of those sequenceshaving one or more amino acid substitutions, deletions or insertions.

Also provided are methods for producing an antibody antigen-bindingdomain for a fungal antigen, or for producing an antibody molecule thatspecifically binds to a fungal antigen, which methods comprise utilisingor modifying one or more of the CDRs, FWs, VH and VL domains havingsequences set out in Tables A-R.

Also provided are methods of identifying or labelling a Candida cell, orthe hyphae of C. albicans, of opsonising, or increasing the rate ofopsonisation of a Candida cell, of increasing the rate of engulfment ofa Candida cell, or of increasing the rate of macrophage attraction toCandida cell, the methods utilising the antibody molecules of theinvention.

The invention also provides therapeutic and diagnostic utilities for theantibody molecules of the invention, and diagnostic devices utilisingthem.

Some of these aspects and embodiments of the invention will now bedescribed in more detail.

mAbs and Processes of Production

Pooled immunoglobulin from serum was one of the first widely availabletreatments for microbial infections and that hyperimmune human seraimmunoglobulin is still used today to treat a number of infectionsincluding cytomegalovirus (CMV), hepatitis A and B virus (HAV, HBV)rabies and measles (12-14). Nevertheless, although in recent yearshumanised versions of mAbs have become some of the world's bestsellingdrugs, to date the majority of these mAbs have been licensed for thetreatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases (9-11), there is currentlyonly one mAb approved for the treatment of an infectious disease (13).

Methods for the production of mAbs for therapeutic and/or diagnostic usehave diversified dramatically over the decades. Early mAbs were mainlyof murine origin but tended to be immunogenic in the human host (34,35). The majority of mAbs currently in the clinics are humanized orfully human IgG1 mAbs generated through hybridoma cell lines (14, 35).Combinatorial display technologies using phage or yeast have beenvaluable but require a period of in vitro affinity maturation and losethe natural antibody heavy and light chain pairings (14).

Recently, direct amplification of individual VH and VL chain domaingenes from single human B cells to ensure retention of native antibodyheavy and light chain pairings, has led to the generation of fully humanmAbs with increased safety and relevance to human disease in areas wherecurrent treatments are suboptimal (14, 36-39).

Antibody Molecules

Anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecules of the invention mayinclude any polypeptide or protein comprising an antibodyantigen-binding site described herein, including Fab, Fab₂, Fab₃,diabodies, triabodies, tetrabodies, minibodies and single-domainantibodies, as well as whole antibodies of any isotype or sub-class.

The anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecules may also be asingle-chain variable fragment (scFv) or single-chain antibody (scAb).An scFv fragment is a fusion of a variable heavy (VH) and variable light(VL) chain. A scAb has a constant light (CL) chain fused to the VL chainof an scFv fragment. The CL chain is optionally the human kappa lightchain (HuC_(K)). A single chain Fv (scFv) may be comprised within amini-immunoglobulin or small immunoprotein (SIP), e.g. as described inLi et al. (1997). An SIP may comprise an scFv molecule fused to the CH4domain of the human IgE secretory isoform IgE-S2 (ε_(S2)-CH4; Batista,F. D., Anand, S., Presani, G., Efremov, D. G. and Burrone, O. R. (1996).The two membrane isoforms of human IgE assemble into functionallydistinct B cell antigen receptors. J. Exp. Med. 184:2197-2205) formingan homo-dimeric mini-immunoglobulin antibody molecule.

Antibody molecules and methods for their construction and use aredescribed, in for example, Holliger, P. and Hudson, P. J. (2005).Engineered antibody fragments and the rise of single domains. Nat.Biotechnol. 23:1126-1136.

Anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecules as described hereinmay lack antibody constant regions.

However in some preferred embodiments, the anti-Candida recombinanthuman antibody molecule of the invention is a whole antibody. Forexample, the anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule may be anIgG, IgA, IgE or IgM or any of the isotype sub-classes, particularlyIgG1.

Anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecules as described willgenerally be provided in isolated form, in the sense of being free fromcontaminants, such as antibodies able to bind other polypeptides and/orserum components.

Anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecules of the invention maybe obtained in the light of the disclosure herein, for example usingtechniques described in reference (14).

Antibody molecules of the invention typically comprise an antigenbinding domain comprising an immunoglobulin heavy chain variable domain(VH) and an immunoglobulin light chain variable domain (VL).

Each of the VH and VL domains typically comprise 3 complementaritydetermining regions (CDRs) responsible for antigen binding, interspersedby 4 framework (FW) regions.

In Tables A-R hereinafter, the sequences of each of the CDRs and FWs foreach of the VH and VL domains is given for each of the preferred 18antibodies of the invention i.e. Antibodies 120-124 (directed to theHyr1 protein), and also 118-119, 126-127, 129-135, and 139-140 (directedto C. albicans ‘whole cell’):

Tables VH and VL give the entire VH and VL domains of these 18antibodies.

In these tables, each antibody the sequences are numbered as follows:

 1 × H FW1  2 × H CDR1  3 × H FW2  4 × H CDR2  5 × H FW3  6 × H CDR3  7× H FW4  8 × L FW1  9 × L CDR1 10 × L FW2 11 × L CDR2 12 × L FW3 13 × LCDR3 14 × L FW4 15 × VH full sequence 16 × VL full sequence

Tables “VH-CDR3-mod” and “VL-CDR3-mod” show pairs of variants of theCDR3 sequences of some of the VH domains (i.e. SEQ ID No 6x) and VLdomains (SEQ ID No 13x) respectively. These VH-CDR3 variants arenumbered SEQ ID Nos 17x/18x and these VL-CDR3 variants are numbered SEQID No 19x/20x.

In each case ‘x’ represents any single letter of A-R, each letterrepresenting one of the 18 antibodies 118-124, 126-127, 129-135, and139-140, for example ‘A’ represents antibody AB119 described in Table Aand Tables VH and VL. It will be understood that the description inrelation to sequence ‘x’ applies mutatis mutandis to any of theantibodies described in Tables A-R, as if that description was writtenindividually for each antibody.

In some embodiments, Anti-Candida recombinant human antibody moleculesof the invention may binding to the target wholly or substantiallythrough a VHCDR3 sequence described herein.

Thus, for example, an anti-Candida recombinant human antibody moleculemay comprise a VH domain comprising a HCDR3 having the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO: 6x or the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6x with 1 ormore, for example 2, or 3 or more amino acid substitutions, deletions orinsertions (e.g. as shown in SEQ ID NO: 17x or 18x).

Substitutions as described herein may be conservative substitutions ormay be present to remove Cys residues from the native sequence. In someembodiments, an antibody may comprise one or more substitutions,deletions or insertions which remove a glycosylation site.

The HCDR3 may be the only region of the antibody molecule that interactswith a target epitope or substantially the only region. The HCDR3 maytherefore determine the specificity and/or affinity of the antibodymolecule for the target.

The VH domain of an anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule mayadditionally comprise an HCDR2 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ IDNO: 4x or the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4x with 1 or more, for example 2,or 3 or more amino acid substitutions, deletions or insertions.

The VH domain of an anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule mayfurther comprise an HCDR1 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2x or the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2x with 1 or more, for example 2 or 3or more amino acid substitutions, deletions or insertions.

In some embodiments, an antibody molecule may comprise a VH domaincomprising a HCDR1, a HCDR2 and a HCDR3 having the sequences of SEQ IDNOs 2x, 4x and 6x respectively.

In some embodiments, an antibody molecule may comprise a VH domaincomprising one or more or all of a FW1, a FW2, a FW3 and a FW4 havingthe sequences of SEQ ID NOs 1x, 3x, 5x and 7x respectively. Any of theseFW regions may include 1 or more, for example 2 or 3 or more amino acidsubstitutions, deletions or insertions.

For example, an antibody molecule may comprise a VH domain having thesequence of SEQ ID NO: 15x or the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15x with 1 ormore, for example 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more amino acidsubstitutions, deletions or insertions in SEQ ID NO: 15x.

The anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule will typicallyfurther comprise a VL domain, for example a VL domain comprising LCDR1,LCDR2 and LCDR3 having the sequences of SEQ ID NOs 9x, 11x and 13xrespectively, or the sequences of SEQ ID NOs 9x, 11x and 13xrespectively with, independently, 1 or more, for example 2 or 3 or moreamino acid substitutions, deletions or insertions. Examples of variantLCDR3 sequences are shown in SEQ ID NOs: 19x and 20x.

In some embodiments, an antibody molecule may comprise a VL domaincomprising one or more or all of a FW1, a FW2, a FW3 and a FW4 havingthe sequences of SEQ ID NOs 8x, 10x, 12x and 14x respectively. Any ofthese may include 1 or more, for example 2 or 3 or more amino acidsubstitutions, deletions or insertions.

For example, an antibody molecule may comprise a VL domain having thesequence of SEQ ID NO: 16x or the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16x with 1 ormore, for example 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more amino acidsubstitutions, deletions or insertions in SEQ ID NO: 16x.

The anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule may for examplecomprise one or more amino acid substitutions, deletions or insertionswhich improve one or more properties of the antibody, for exampleaffinity, functional half-life, on and off rates.

The techniques required in order to introduce substitutions, deletionsor insertions within amino acid sequences of CDRs, antibody VH or VLdomains and antibodies are generally available in the art. Variantsequences may be made, with substitutions, deletions or insertions thatmay or may not be predicted to have a minimal or beneficial effect onactivity, and tested for ability to bind to C. albicans antigens and/orfor any other desired property.

In some embodiments, an anti-Candida recombinant human antibody moleculemay comprise a VH domain comprising a HCDR1, a HCDR2 and a HCDR3 havingthe sequences of SEQ ID NOs 2x, 4x, and 6x (or 17x or 18x),respectively, and a VL domain comprising a LCDR1, a LCDR2 and a LCDR3having the sequences of SEQ ID NOs 9x, 11x and 13x (or 19x or 20x),respectively.

For example, the VH and VL domains may have the amino acid sequences ofSEQ ID NO: 15x and SEQ ID NO: 16x respectively; or may have the aminoacid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 15x and SEQ ID NO: 16x comprising,independently 1 or more, for example 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or moreamino acid substitutions, deletions or insertions.

In some embodiments, an anti-Candida recombinant human antibody moleculeVH domain may have at least about 60% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:15x, e.g. at least about 61%, 62%, 63%, 64%, 65%, 66%, 67%, 68%, 69%,70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%,84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%,98% or 99% identity to SEQ ID NO: 15x.

In some embodiments, an anti-Candida recombinant human antibody moleculeVL domain may have at least about 60% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:16x, e.g. at least about 61%, 62%, 63%, 64%, 65%, 66%, 67%, 68%, 69%,70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%,84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%,98% or 99% identity to SEQ ID NO: 16x.

The anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule may be in anyformat, as described above, In some preferred embodiments, theanti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule may be a wholeantibody, for example an IgG, such as IgG1, IgA, IgE or IgM. In somepreferred embodiments, than anti-Candida recombinant human antibodymolecule is a scAb or scFv.

An anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule of the invention maybe one which competes for binding to the target (e.g. Hyr1) with anantibody molecule described herein, for example an antibody moleculewhich

(i) binds Hyr1 and(ii) comprises a VH domain of SEQ ID NO: 15x and/or VL domain of SEQ IDNO: 16x; an HCDR3 of SEQ ID NO: 6x; an HCDR1, HCDR2, LCDR1, LCDR2, orLCDR3 of SEQ ID NOS: 2x, 4x, 9x, 11x or 13x respectively; a VH domaincomprising HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3 sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 2x, 4x and 6xrespectively; and/or a VH domain comprising HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 2x, 4x and 6x and a VL domain comprising LCDR1,LDR2 and LCDR3 sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 9x, 11x and 13x respectively,

-   -   where x here is C, D, E, F or G.

An anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule of the invention maybe one which competes for binding to the target (e.g. C. albicans wholecell wall extract) with an antibody molecule described herein, forexample an antibody molecule which

(i) binds C. albicans whole cell wall extract, and(ii) comprises a VH domain of SEQ ID NO: 15x and/or VL domain of SEQ IDNO: 16x; an HCDR3 of SEQ ID NO: 6x; an HCDR1, HCDR2, LCDR1, LCDR2, orLCDR3 of SEQ ID NOS: 2x, 4x, 9x, 11x or 13x respectively; a VH domaincomprising HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3 sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 2x, 4x and 6xrespectively; and/or a VH domain comprising HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 2x, 4x and 6x and a VL domain comprising LCDR1,LDR2 and LCDR3 sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 9x, 11x and 13x respectively,

-   -   where x here is A-B, or H-R.

Competition between antibody molecules may be assayed easily in vitro,for example using ELISA and/or by tagging a specific reporter moleculeto one antibody molecule which can be detected in the presence of one ormore other untagged antibody molecules, to enable identification ofantibody molecules which bind the same epitope or an overlappingepitope. Such methods are readily known to one of ordinary skill in theart.

Thus, a further aspect of the present invention provides a bindingmember or antibody molecule comprising an antigen-binding site thatcompetes with an antibody molecule, for example an antibody moleculecomprising a VH and/or VL domain, CDR e.g. HCDR3 or set of CDRs of theparent antibody described above for binding to target antigen. Asuitable antibody molecule may comprise an antibody antigen-binding sitewhich competes with an antibody antigen-binding site for binding totarget antigen wherein the antibody antigen-binding site is composed ofa VH domain and a VL domain, and wherein the VH and VL domains compriseHCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3 sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 2x, 4x, and 6x (or 17xor 18x) and LCDR1, LDR2 and LCDR3 sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 9x, 11x, and13x (or 19x or 20x) respectively, for example the VH and VL domains ofSEQ ID NOS: 15x and 16x.

The VH and VL framework encoded by the genes encoded from the B cellantibody factories can be readily modified by molecular genetics toalter and refine the properties of the antibodies. Such modifiedsequences are termed “derived” from the B cells herein.

For example is may be desired to remove Cys residues in the sequence, tominimise potential incorrect Cys pairings.

Thus the invention also provides a method for producing an antibodyantigen-binding domain for a fungal target as described herein,preferably C. albicans Hyr1 protein or whole cell wall extract, whichcomprises:

-   -   providing, by way of addition, deletion, substitution or        insertion of one or more amino acids in the amino acid sequence        of a parent VH domain comprising HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3, wherein        the parent VH domain HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3 have the amino acid        sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 2x, 4x and 6x respectively, a VH domain        which is an amino acid sequence variant of the parent VH domain,        and;    -   optionally combining the VH domain thus provided with one or        more VL domains to provide one or more VHNL combinations; and    -   testing said VH domain which is an amino acid sequence variant        of the parent VH domain or the VH/VL combination or combinations        to identify an antibody antigen binding domain for target        antigen.

A VH domain which is an amino acid sequence variant of the parent VHdomain may have the HCDR3 sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6x or a variant withthe addition, deletion, substitution or insertion of one, two, three ormore amino acids e.g. 17x or 18x.

The VH domain which is an amino acid sequence variant of the parent VHdomain may have the HCDR1 and HCDR2 sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 2x and 4xrespectively, or variants of these sequences with the addition,deletion, substitution or insertion of one, two, three or more aminoacids.

The invention also provides a method for producing an antibodyantigen-binding domain for a fungal target as described herein,preferably C. albicans Hyr1 protein or whole cell wall extract, whichcomprises:

-   -   providing starting nucleic acid encoding a VH domain or a        starting repertoire of nucleic acids each encoding a VH domain,        wherein the VH domain or VH domains either comprise a HCDR1,        HCDR2 and/or HCDR3 to be replaced or lack a HCDR1, HCDR2 and/or        HCDR3 encoding region;    -   combining said starting nucleic acid or starting repertoire with        donor nucleic acid or donor nucleic acids encoding or produced        by mutation of the amino acid sequence of an HCDR1, HCDR2,        and/or HCDR3 having the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 2x,        4x and 6x respectively, such that said donor nucleic acid is or        donor nucleic acids are inserted into the CDR1, CDR2 and/or CDR3        region in the starting nucleic acid or starting repertoire, so        as to provide a product repertoire of nucleic acids encoding VH        domains;    -   expressing the nucleic acids of said product repertoire to        produce product VH domains;    -   optionally combining said product VH domains with one or more VL        domains; selecting an antibody molecule that binds the fungal        target, which antibody molecule comprises a product VH domain        and optionally a VL domain; and recovering said antibody        molecule or nucleic acid encoding it.

Suitable techniques for the maturation and optimisation of antibodymolecules are well-known in the art.

Anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecules may be furthermodified by chemical modification, for example by PEGylation, or byincorporation in a liposome, to improve their pharmaceutical properties,for example by increasing in vivo half-life.

An anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule as described hereinmay conjugated to a toxic payload (e.g. ricin) that could kill thefungus and act as a therapeutic antibody.

An anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule as described hereinmay be one which binds Hyr1 with an EC₅₀ values of 1 to 1500, e.g. 10 to500, or 20 to 200 ng/ml.

An anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule as described hereinmay be one which binds C. albicans with an EC₅₀ values of 1 to 1500,e.g. 1 to 500, or 1 to 40 ng/ml.

EC50 can be assessed as described hereinafter with ELISA e.g. asdescribed in the Examples below for “Circulating IgG Enzyme-linkedImmunosorbent assay (ELISA) to identify donors with B cells to takeforward “ and “B cell supernatant screen against target antigens viaELISA”.

Provided herein is a method of binding a fungal cell, for example C.albicans, the method comprising contacting the fungal cell with ananti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule as described herein.

It is known that there are a large number of Candida species. KeyCandida species which may be targeted by the antibodies described hereininclude Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Candidaparapsilosis (a clonal complex of three species—C. parapsilosis, C.orthopsilosis and C. metapsilosis), and Candida krusei (synonym:Issatchenkia orientalis). Less-prominent species include Candidaguilliermondii, Candida lusitaniae, Candida kefyr, Candida famata(synonym: Debaryomyces hansenii), Candida inconspicua, Candida rugosa,Candida dubliniensis, Candida norvegensis, Candida auris, Candidahaemulonii.

As described herein, the anti-Candida recombinant human antibodymolecules of the invention can detect both morphology specific andmorphology-independent epitopes with high specificity. The antibodymolecules described herein may thus bind to C. albicans with highaffinity relative to other fungal targets. For example, an antibodymolecule of the invention may display a binding affinity for C. albicanswhich is at least 1000 fold or at least 2000 fold greater than anon-Candida pathogenic fungus such as Aspergillus fumigatus andCryptococcus neoformans and Pneumocystis jirovecii.

Nevertheless an anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule asdescribed herein may bind to the species closely related to C. albicanse.g. C. dubliniensis, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis (clonal complex),C. krusei, C. auris (clonal complex), C. glabrata and C. lusitaniae e.g.for example with an affinity within a 1000-fold o of the binding to C.albicans (assessed using EC50).

Provided herein is a method of opsonising, or increasing the rate ofopsonisation of a fungal cell, for example C. albicans, the methodcomprising contacting or pre-incubating the fungal cell with ananti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule as described herein.

Provided herein is a method of increasing the rate of engulfment of afungal cell, for example C. albicans, by macrophages, the methodcomprising contacting the fungal cell with an anti-Candida recombinanthuman antibody molecule as described herein. The antibody molecule mayoptionally be one specific for the hyphal-specific protein Hyr1.

Provided herein is a method of increasing the rate of macrophageattraction to a fungal cell, for example C. albicans, the methodcomprising contacting or pre-incubating the fungal cell with ananti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule as described herein.The antibody molecule may optionally be one raised to whole cell wallpreparation of the fungal cell.

Treatment of Disease

An anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule as described hereinmay be used for clinical benefit in the treatment of a fungus-associatedcondition, and particularly infections caused by Candida species, i.e.candidiasis. Preferred antibody molecules are those specific for C.albicans cell wall preparations.

C. albicans is the most common serious fungal pathogen of humans, andthe embodiments disclosed herein may be used in the prophylaxis ortreatment of any condition related to infection caused by C. albicans.

The fungus is part of the normal gut flora of around 50% of thepopulation and is normally harmless but can cause superficial mucosalinfections such as oral and vaginal thrush and life-threatening systemicdisseminated disease in immunocompromised individuals. Immunocompromisedindividuals may have a weakened immune system due to medical treatment(e.g. cancer treatment or organ transplant recipients), or due to adisease or disorder (e.g. HIV/AIDS, SCID, CVID). Other conditions thatmay be treated include lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients,mixed microbial infections, which include both bacteria (e.g.Pseudomonas spp.) and fungi, fungal infections on indwelling medicaldevices such as catheters, and skin and urinary tract infections.

The antibody molecules as described herein may be useful in the surgicaland other medical procedures which may lead to immunosuppression, ormedical procedures in patients who are already immunosuppressed.

Patients suitable for treatment as described herein include patientswith conditions in which fungal infection is a symptom or a side-effectof treatment or which confer an increased risk of fungal infection orpatients who are predisposed to or at increased risk of fungalinfection, relative to the general population. For example, ananti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule as described herein mayalso be useful in the treatment or prevention of fungal infection incancer patients.

An anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule as described hereinmay be used in a method of treatment of the human or animal body,including prophylactic or preventative treatment (e.g. treatment beforethe onset of a condition in an individual to reduce the risk of thecondition occurring in the individual; delay its onset; or reduce itsseverity after onset). The method of treatment may compriseadministering an anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule to anindividual in need thereof.

Aspects of the invention provide; an anti-Candida recombinant humanantibody molecule as described herein for use in a method of treatmentof the human or animal body; an anti-Candida recombinant human antibodymolecule as described herein for use in a method of treatment of afungal infection; the use of an anti-Candida recombinant human antibodymolecule as described herein in the manufacture of a medicament for thetreatment of a fungal infection; and a method of treatment of a fungalinfection comprising administering an anti-Candida recombinant humanantibody molecule as described herein to an individual in need thereof.

Pharmaceutical Compositions and Dosage Regimens

Anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecules may be comprised inpharmaceutical compositions with a pharmaceutically acceptableexcipient.

A pharmaceutically acceptable excipient may be a compound or acombination of compounds entering into a pharmaceutical compositionwhich does not provoke secondary reactions and which allows, forexample, facilitation of the administration of the anti-Candidarecombinant human antibody molecule, an increase in its lifespan and/orin its efficacy in the body or an increase in its solubility insolution. These pharmaceutically acceptable vehicles are well known andwill be adapted by the person skilled in the art as a function of themode of administration of the anti-Candida recombinant human antibodymolecule.

In some embodiments, anti-Candida recombinant human antibody moleculesmay be provided in a lyophilised form for reconstitution prior toadministration. For example, lyophilised antibody molecules may bere-constituted in sterile water and mixed with saline prior toadministration to an individual.

Anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecules will usually beadministered in the form of a pharmaceutical composition, which maycomprise at least one component in addition to the antibody molecule.Thus pharmaceutical compositions may comprise, in addition to theanti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule, a pharmaceuticallyacceptable excipient, carrier, buffer, stabiliser or other materialswell known to those skilled in the art. Such materials should benon-toxic and should not interfere with the efficacy of the anti-Candidarecombinant human antibody molecule. The precise nature of the carrieror other material will depend on the route of administration, which maybe by bolus, infusion, injection or any other suitable route, asdiscussed below.

For parenteral, for example sub-cutaneous or intra-venousadministration, e.g. by injection, the pharmaceutical compositioncomprising the anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule may bein the form of a parenterally acceptable aqueous solution which ispyrogen-free and has suitable pH, isotonicity and stability. Those ofrelevant skill in the art are well able to prepare suitable solutionsusing, for example, isotonic vehicles, such as Sodium ChlorideInjection, Ringer's Injection, Lactated Ringer's Injection.Preservatives, stabilisers, buffers, antioxidants and/or other additivesmay be employed as required including buffers such as phosphate, citrateand other organic acids; antioxidants, such as ascorbic acid andmethionine; preservatives (such as octadecyldimethylbenzyl ammoniumchloride; hexamethonium chloride; benzalkonium chloride; benzethoniumchloride; phenol, butyl or benzyl alcohol; alkyl parabens, such asmethyl or propyl paraben; catechol; resorcinol; cyclohexanol;3′-pentanol; and m-cresol); low molecular weight polypeptides; proteins,such as serum albumin, gelatin or immunoglobulins; hydrophilic polymers,such as polyvinylpyrrolidone; amino acids, such as glycine, glutamine,asparagines, histidine, arginine, or lysine; monosaccharides,disaccharides and other carbohydrates including glucose, mannose ordextrins; chelating agents, such as EDTA; sugars, such as sucrose,mannitol, trehalose or sorbitol; salt-forming counter-ions, such assodium; metal complexes (e.g. Zn-protein complexes); and/or non-ionicsurfactants, such as TWEEN™, PLURONICS™ or polyethylene glycol (PEG).

Administration is normally in a “therapeutically effective amount”, thisbeing sufficient to show benefit to a patient. Such benefit may be atleast amelioration of at least one symptom. The actual amountadministered, and rate and time-course of administration, will depend onthe nature and severity of what is being treated, the particular mammalbeing treated, the clinical condition of the individual patient, thecause of the disorder, the site of delivery of the composition, themethod of administration, the scheduling of administration and otherfactors known to medical practitioners. Prescription of treatment, e.g.decisions on dosage etc, is within the responsibility of generalpractitioners and other medical doctors and may depend on the severityof the symptoms and/or progression of a disease being treated.Appropriate doses of antibody molecules are well known in the art(Ledermann, J. A., Begent, R. H., Massof, C., Kelly, A. M., Adam, T. andBagshawe, K. D. (1991). A phase-I study of repeated therapy withradiolabelled antibody to carcinoembryonic antigen using intermittent orcontinuous administration of cyclosporin A to suppress the immuneresponse. Int. J. Cancer 47:659-664). Specific dosages may be indicatedherein or in the Physician's Desk Reference (2003) as appropriate forthe type of medicament being administered may be used. A therapeuticallyeffective amount or suitable dose of an antibody molecule may bedetermined by comparing it's in vitro activity and in vivo activity inan animal model. Methods for extrapolation of effective dosages in miceand other test animals to humans are known. The precise dose will dependupon a number of factors, including whether the antibody is forprevention or for treatment, the size and location of the area to betreated, the precise nature of the antibody (e.g. whole antibody,fragment) and the nature of any detectable label or other moleculeattached to the antibody.

A typical antibody dose will be in the range 100 μg to 1 g for systemicapplications, and 1 μg to 1 mg for topical applications. An initialhigher loading dose, followed by one or more lower doses, may beadministered.

Typically, the antibody will be a whole antibody, e.g. the IgG1 isotype,and where a whole antibody is used, dosages at the lower end of theranges described herein may be preferred. This is a dose for a singletreatment of an adult patient, which may be proportionally adjusted forchildren and infants, and also adjusted for other antibody formats inproportion to molecular weight.

Preferably the antibody or fragment will be dosed at no more than 50mg/kg or no more than 100 mg/kg in a human patient, for example between1 and 50, e.g. 5 to 40, 10 to 30, 10 to 20 mg/kg.

Treatments may be repeated at daily, twice-weekly, weekly or monthlyintervals, at the discretion of the physician. The treatment schedulefor an individual may be dependent on the pharmocokinetic andpharmacodynamic properties of the antibody composition, the route ofadministration and the nature of the condition being treated.

Treatment may be periodic, and the period between administrations may beabout two weeks or more, e.g. about three weeks or more, about fourweeks or more, about once a month or more, about five weeks or more, orabout six weeks or more. For example, treatment may be every two to fourweeks or every four to eight weeks. Treatment may be given before,and/or after surgery, and/or may be administered or applied directly atthe anatomical site of surgical treatment or invasive procedure.Suitable formulations and routes of administration are described above.

In some embodiments, anti-Candida recombinant human antibody moleculesas described herein may be administered as sub-cutaneous injections.Sub-cutaneous injections may be administered using an auto-injector, forexample for long term prophylaxis/treatment.

In some preferred embodiments, the therapeutic effect of theanti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule may persist for severalhalf-lives, depending on the dose. For example, the therapeutic effectof a single dose of anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule maypersist in an individual for 1 month or more, 2 months or more, 3 monthsor more, 4 months or more, 5 months or more, or 6 months or more.

Combination Immunotherapy

It will be understood that the term “treatment” as used herein includescombination treatments and therapies, in which two or more treatments,therapies, or agents are combined, for example, sequentially orsimultaneously.

The agents (i.e. the anti-Candida recombinant human antibody moleculesdescribed herein, plus one or more other agents) may be administeredsimultaneously or sequentially, and may be administered in individuallyvarying dose schedules and via different routes. For example, whenadministered sequentially, the agents can be administered at closelyspaced intervals (e.g., over a period of 5-10 minutes) or at longerintervals (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4 or more hours apart, or even longer periodsapart where required), the precise dosage regimen being commensuratewith the properties of the therapeutic agent(s) as described herein,including their synergistic effect.

The agents (i.e. the anti-Candida recombinant human antibody moleculesdescribed here, plus one or more other agents) may be formulatedtogether in a single dosage form, or alternatively, the individualagents may be formulated separately and presented together in the formof a kit, optionally with instructions for their use.

For example, the compounds described herein may in any aspect andembodiment also be used in combination therapies, e.g. in conjunctionwith other agents e.g. antifungal agents. The second antifungal agentmay be selected from an azole (e.g. fluconazole), a polyene (e.g.amphotericin B), a echinocandin (e.g. caspofungin), an allylamine (e.g.terbinafine), and a flucytosine (also called 5-fluorocytosine). Theskilled person will recognise that other antifungal agents may also beused. In some embodiments, the second antifungal agent is a secondanti-fungal antibody or an antimicrobial peptide. In some embodiments,the anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecule described herein isconjugated to the second antifungal agent.

Preparation of Other Therapeutic Moieties

The anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecules described hereinmay be utilised to isolate and identify protective antigens fordevelopment as fungal vaccines, or prepare or identify other therapeuticmoieties.

For example the antigens bound by the anti-whole cell mAbs describedherein may be identified by methods known to those skilled in the art.For example they could be screened against protein and carbohydratemutants to identify those mutants where binding is reduced.Alternatively antigens can be identified more directly by aproteomics-based approach, for example using 2D electrophoresis andimmunoblotting, followed by analysis of spots by trypsinization andmass-spectroscopy (see e.g. Silva et al. Mol Biochem Parasitol. 2013Apr;188(2):109-15.). Such antigens will have utility as potentialvaccines.

Anti-idiotype anytibodies can be prepared to the antibodies describedherein using methods well known to those in the art (see Polonelli, L etal. “Monoclonal Yeast Killer Toxin-like Candidacidal Anti-IdiotypicAntibodies.” Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology 4.2 (1997):142-146; also U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,024).

Detection and Diagnosis

Anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecules as described hereinmay also be useful in in vitro testing, for example in the detection offungus or a fungal infection, for example in a sample obtained from apatient.

Anti-Candida recombinant human antibody molecules as described hereinmay be useful for identifying C. albicans, and/or distinguishing C.albicans from other fungi.

The presence or absence of a fungus (e.g. C. albicans) may be detectedby

(i) contacting a sample suspected of containing the fungus with anantibody molecule described herein, and(ii) determining whether the antibody molecule binds to the sample,wherein binding of the antibody molecule to the sample indicates thepresence of the fungus.

A fungal infection, e.g. C. albicans infection, in an individual may bediagnosed by

(i) obtaining a sample from the individual;(ii) contacting the sample with an antibody molecule as describedherein, and(iii) determining whether the antibody molecule binds to the sample,wherein binding of the antibody molecule to the sample indicates thepresence of the fungal infection.

Binding of antibodies to a sample may be determined using any of avariety of techniques known in the art, for example ELISA,immunocytochemistry, immunoprecipitation, affinity chromatography, andbiochemical or cell-based assays. In some embodiments, the antibody isconjugated to a detectable label or a radioisotope.

Lateral Flow Devices

The invention also provides rapid and highly specific diagnostic testsfor detecting fungal pathogens, for example multiple fungal pathogens,in a single test

Preferred tests detect not only C. albicans, but also one or more othermajor fungal pathogens e.g. Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcusneoformans and Pneumocystis jirovecii. Other fungal pathogens which itmay be desirable to detect include zygomycete fungi and skindermatophytic (ringworm) fungi. Antibody molecules specific for theseother pathogens may be provided in the light of the disclosure herein,for example.

Preferably the test is in the form of a lateral flow device (LFD). SuchLFDs are particularly suitable for use as point-of-care fungaldiagnostics.

A lateral flow assay device for the analysis of body fluid will compriseat its most basic:

(i) a housing, and(ii) a flow path.

The devices, systems and methods described herein are for measuringanalyte levels in body fluids of animals, particularly mammals includinghumans, or in environmental samples e.g. where it is believed fungalpathogens may exist.

As used anywhere herein, unless context demands otherwise, the term‘body fluid’ may be taken to mean any fluid found in the body of which asample can be taken for analysis. Examples of body fluids suitable foruse in the present invention include, but are not limited to blood,urine, sweat and saliva. Preferably, the body fluid is blood. The fluidmay be diluted by a pre-determined amount prior to assay, and anyquantification indicator on the LFD may reflect that pre-determineddilution.

Some aspects of the LFD will now be discussed in more detail:

Flow Path of LFD

The flow path (e.g. a chromatographic strip) is preferably provided by acarrier, through which the test substance or body fluid can flow bycapillary action. In one embodiment, the carrier is a porous carrier,for example a nitrocellulose or nylon membrane. In a further embodiment,sections or all of the carrier may be non-porous. For example, thenon-porous carrier may comprise areas of perpendicular projections(micropillars) around which lateral capillary flow is achieved, asdescribed in for example WO2003/103835, WO2005/089082 and WO2006/137785,incorporated herein by reference.

The flow path will typically have an analyte-detection zone comprising aconjugate release zone and a detection zone where a visible signalreveals the presence (or absence) of the analyte of interest. The testsubstance can be introduced into the LFD and flows through to thedetection zone.

Preferably the carrier material is in the form of a strip, sheet orsimilar to the material described in WO2006/137785 to which the reagentsare applied in spatially distinct zones. The body fluid sample isallowed to permeate through the sheet, strip or other material from oneside or end to another.

Analyte Detection Methods

Analyte detection may be based on competitive or sandwich(non-competitive) assays. Such assays may be used to detect analytes(antigens) from C. albicans, plus optionally one or more other majorfungal pathogens e.g. from Aspergillus fumigatus, Cryptococcusneoformans and/or Pneumocystsis jirovecii. Other targets includezygomycete fungi and skin dermatophytic fungi.

The conjugate release zone may contain freely mobile antibodies to theanalyte of interest. Alternatively, the conjugate release zone maycomprise reagents for carrying out a particular assay to enabledetection of the analyte, as described herein.

The binding partners may be attached to a mobile and visible label. A“label” is a composition detectable by spectroscopic, photochemical,biochemical, immunochemical, electrical, optical or chemical means.Useful labels in the present invention include magnetic beads (e.g.,Dynabeads™), fluorescent dyes, radiolabels, enzymes, and colorimetriclabels such as colloidal gold, silver, selenium, or other metals, orcoloured glass or plastic (e.g., polystyrene, polypropylene, latex,etc.) beads. Preferred is a gold colloid or latex bead.

If the analyte is present in the sample, it will bind to the labelledbinding partners. In preferred embodiments the intensity of the colourmay be directly proportional to the amount of analyte. Here thedetection zone comprises permanently immobilised unlabelled specificbinding reagent for the same analyte. The relative positioning of thelabelled binding partner and detection zone being such that a body fluidsample applied to the device can pick up labelled binding partner andthereafter permeate into the detection zone. The amount of bound labelcan be detected as a visible signal in the detection zone.

The label in the LFD will be quantifiable by conventional means or asdescribed herein.

In one competitive format embodiment, the detection zone containsregions of immobile analyte-protein derivatives. These bind andimmobilise any of the labelled binding partners not already bound by theanalyte in the sample, producing a coloured line or stripe. In this casethe amount of label bound in the detection zone (and hence the intensityof the coloured stripe) will be inversely proportional to the amount ofanalyte in the sample.

In another competitive format, a labelled analyte or analyte analoguemay alternatively be provided and this is detected using immobilizedspecific binding partner (e. g. immobilized antibody specific for theanalyte) in the detection zone.

In another competitive format, a labelled analyte or analyte analogue isprovided along with a specific binding partner (e.g. an antibodyspecific for the analyte). The resulting mixture is conveyed to thedetection zone presenting immobilized binding partner of the analyte oranalyte analogue. The higher the amount of analyte in the sample, thehigher the amount of free labelled analyte which leaves the conjugaterelease zone to be detected in the detection zone.

Control Zone

Preferably the LFD for use with the present invention contains a controlzone, which may be located after the detection zone in the direction ofsample flow, in which excess labelled binding partner binds to produce avisible signal showing that the test has been successfully run.

Alternatively or additionally, a control zone may be located before thedetection zone in the direction of sample flow, indicating that enoughsample has been collected to allow operation of the test.

In one embodiment, the control zone is used as a reference point for areader (see below).

Multiplex Devices

In various aspects of the invention, the LFD may be capable of detectingtwo (or more) different analytes e.g. analytes (antigens) from C.albicans, plus optionally from one or more or all of Aspergillusfumigatus, Cryptococcus neoformans and/or Pneumocystsis jirovecii. Othertargets include zygomycete fungi and skin dermatophytic fungi.

A number of multiplex formats are known in LFDs.

For example, the flow path may comprise two or more carriers. Thecarriers may be positioned along the flow path consecutively. In use,body fluid would flow along each carrier sequentially.

In a further embodiment, two or more carriers may be positioned in theflow path in parallel. In use, body fluid would flow along each carriersimultaneously.

In one embodiment, two analytes are analysed using two distinct flowpath e.g. the housing of the LFD houses the two flow paths.

In one embodiment, the analyte-detecting means may comprise a firstbinding reagent that specifically binds the analyte and a second bindingreagent that specifically binds the analyte, wherein the first bindingreagent is labelled and is movable through a carrier under the influenceof a liquid by capillary flow and the second binding reagent isimmobilised at a detection site in the flow path. The analyte-detectingmeans comprises a labelled, mobile antibody, specific for the analyteand an immobilised unlabelled antibody, specific for the analyte.

In one embodiment, the analyte-detecting means for each analyte may bepositioned together on the carrier, but the specific analyte-bindingreagent for each different analyte may comprise a different label. Thedifferent labels will be capable of being distinguished as describedherein or by conventional means.

Alternatively, the analyte-detecting means for each analyte may bespatially distinct. The flow path in the ‘multiplexed’ LFD mayincorporate two or more discrete carriers of porous or non-porous solidphase material, e.g. each carrying mobile and immobilised reagents.These discrete bodies can be arranged in parallel, for example, suchthat a single application of body fluid sample to the device initiatessample flow in the discrete bodies simultaneously. The separateanalytical results that can be determined in this way can be used ascontrol results, or if different reagents are used on the differentcarriers, the simultaneous determination of a plurality of analytes in asingle sample can be made. Alternatively, multiple samples can beapplied individually to an array of carriers and analysedsimultaneously.

Preferably, multiple analyte detection zones may be applied as linesspanning or substantially spanning the width of a test strip or sheet,preferably followed or preceded by one or more control zones in thedirection of body fluid travel. However, multiple analyte detectionzones may also, for example, be provided as spots, preferably as aseries of discrete spots across the width of a test strip or sheet atthe same height. In this case, a one or more control zones may again beprovided after or before the analyte detection zones in the direction ofbody fluid travel.

Detection Systems

The presence or intensity of the signal in the detection zone may bedetermined by eye, optionally by comparison to a reference chart orcard.

Where the intensity of the signal in the detection zone is to beconverted to a quantitative reading of the concentration of analyte inthe sample it will be preferred that the LFD can be used in conjunctionwith a screening device (‘reader’). The reader is preferably a handheldelectronic device into which the LFD cartridge can be inserted after thesample has been applied.

The reader comprises a light source such as an LED, light from whichilluminates the LFD membrane. The reflected image of the membrane may bedetected and digitised, then analysed by a CPU and converted to a resultwhich can be displayed on an LCD screen or other display technology (oroutput via a conventional interface to further storage or analyticalmeans). A light-dependent resistor, phototransistor, photodiode, CCD orother photo sensor may be used to measure the amount of reflected light.The result may be displayed as positive or negative for a particularanalyte of interest or, preferably, the concentration of the particularanalyte may be displayed. More specifically the conventional readercomprises: illuminating means for illuminating an immunoassay test;photosensitive detector means for detecting the intensity of light fromthe illuminating means which is reflected from the immunoassay test;means, coupled to the output of the photosensitive detector means, forrepresenting the intensity of the detected light by a data array; memorymeans for storing preset data; first data processing means, coupled tothe memory means and to the output of the means for representing theintensity of the detected light by a data array, for segmenting the dataarray according to the preset data into control data, background dataand test data; second data processing means, coupled to the first dataprocessing means, for determining whether the test data exhibits astatistically significant result; and output means, coupled to theoutput of the second data processing means, for outputting the resultsfrom the second data processing means.

In embodiments of the present invention where multiple analytes areassessed, the reader may analyse the results to detect a plurality ofspatially distinct detection or test zones pertaining to differentanalytes. The photosensitive detector means (e.g. light dependentresistor, phototransistor, photodiode, CCD or other light sensor) willtherefore detect reflected light from all of these (optionally scanningthem) and generate a discrete or segmented data stream for each zone.Respective control zonal data and background zonal data may also begathered for the different analytes.

The colour of the LED or other source may vary dependent on the label ormethod of detecting the analyte.

For gold-labelled analytes, a white LED may be preferable, and thereforea reader may comprise both a red and white LED.

Unless stated otherwise, or clear from the context, antibody residues,where numbered herein, are numbered in accordance with the Kabatnumbering scheme.

“and/or” where used herein is to be taken as specific disclosure of eachof the two specified features or components with or without the other.For example “A and/or B” is to be taken as specific disclosure of eachof (i) A, (ii) B and (iii) A and B, just as if each is set outindividually herein.

Any sub-titles herein are included for convenience only, and are not tobe construed as limiting the disclosure in any way.

The invention will now be further described with reference to thefollowing non-limiting Figures and Examples. Other embodiments of theinvention will occur to those skilled in the art in the light of these.

The disclosure of all references cited herein, inasmuch as it may beused by those skilled in the art to carry out the invention, is herebyspecifically incorporated herein by cross-reference.

FIGURES

FIG. 1—Workflow for the generation of human monoclonal antibodies fromsingle B cells. Class-switched memory B cells were isolated fromindividuals and microcultured in activating media to promote IgGsecretion for screening against target antigens. VH and VL genes from Bcells positive for the target were amplified and cloned into a mammalianexpression vector for expression and purification via fast proteinliquid chromatography. Following QC, recombinant mAbs were assessed forfunctional activity in vitro and in vivo. Adapted from Huang et al. 2013(38).

FIG. 2—Representative images from the process employed to generate fullyhuman anti-Candida mAbs. FIG. 2A shows the ELISA screening of purifieddonor circulating IgG against the target antigens C. albicans ‘wholecell’ yeast and hyphae, and purified Hyr1 protein, to select the donorsto take forward for B cell isolation. FIGS. 2B and 2C are representativeagarose gel images following RT-PCR and nested PCR of VH and Vk-Ck genesrespectively. FIGS. 2D and 2E are analytical mass spectrometry andanalytical SEC traces of one of the purified recombinant IgG1 mAbs.Further quality control was carried out by SDS-PAGE gel analysis undernon-reducing and reducing conditions as shown in FIGS. 2F and 2G.

FIG. 3—Concentration response curves showing anti-Candida mAbs bindingto target antigens. FIG. 3A shows purified anti-Hyr1 mAbs binding topurified recombinant Hyr1 protein in a concentration-dependent mannervia ELISA. Binding of purified anti-‘whole cell’ Candida mAbs to C.albicans yeast (FIGS. 3B and 3C) and hyphal cells (FIGS. 3D and 3E) viaELISA are also shown. Values represent mean ±SEM (n=2-4).

FIG. 4—Indirect immunofluorescence of AB120 binding to Hyr1 proteinexpressed on C. albicans hyphal cells. Indirect immunofluorescence withanti-Hyr1 mAb AB120 against WT CAI4-CIp10 (A), Hyr1 null mutant (B) anda Hyr1 re-integrant strain (C). A fluorescently conjugated secondarygoat anti-human IgG antibody was used to detect anti-Hyr1 mAb binding.Scale bars represent 15 μm.

FIG. 5—Indirect immunofluorescence of anti-whole cell mAbs binding to WTCAI4-CIp10. Indirect immunofluorescence demonstrating the distinctbinding patterns of the panel of anti-Candida mAbs. Shown arerepresentative images of mAbs binding strongly to targets expressed onboth CAI4-CIp10 yeast and hyphae (A), mAbs binding primarily to targetsexpressed on hyphae but with some binding to yeast (B), mAbs bindingspecifically to hyphae (C) and mAbs binding to yeast and the growinghyphal tip (D). A fluorescently conjugated secondary goat anti-human IgGantibody was used to detect anti-Candida mAb binding. Scale barsrepresent 19 μm.

FIG. 6—Heat-map of anti-Candida mAbs binding to Candida species andother pathogenic fungi. Immunofluorescence microscopy analysis of (a)anti-Hyr1 mAbs (AB120-AB123) and (b) cell wall mAbs (AB118-AB140)binding to C. albicans and other clinically relevant fungal speciesdepicted in a heat map. Binding was graded from red (high) to yellow(none).

FIG. 7—Macrophage uptake of live C. albicans cells pre-incubated withsaline, isotype control mAb or anti-Candida mAb. FIG. 7A shows the timeat which an uptake event occurred over the first 90 min of the assayfollowing C. albicans pre-incubation with saline, an IgG1 controlantibody, an anti-whole cell mAb (AB118, AB119 and AB140) or ananti-Hyr1 mAb (AB120). FIG. 7B shows the morphology of C. albicans cellsduring each uptake event over the first 90 min of the assay following C.albicans pre-incubation with saline, an IgG1 control antibody, ananti-whole cell mAb (AB118, AB119 and AB140) or an anti-Hyr1 mAb(AB120). An uptake event was defined as the complete engulfment of a C.albicans cell by a macrophage. Bars represent percentage of uptakeevents ±SEM (n=3). *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ****p<0.0001.

FIG. 8—Macrophage engulfment of live C. albicans cells pre-incubatedwith saline, isotype control mAb or anti-Candida mAb. FIGS. 8A-8C aresnapshots taken from live cell video microscopy capturing the stages ofC. albicans engulfment by J774.1 macrophages. FIG. 8A shows themacrophage (red, *) and C. albicans (green) prior to cell-cell contact,FIG. 8B shows the cells once cell-cell contact has been established andFIG. 8C shows the C. albicans within the phagocyte following ingestion.FIG. 8D shows the average time taken for a macrophage to engulf a liveC. albicans cell following pre-incubation with saline, an IgG1 controlantibody, an anti-whole cell mAb (AB118, AB119 and AB140) or ananti-Hyr1 mAb (AB120). FIG. 8E shows the time taken for a macrophage toingest a filamentous C. albicans cell following pre-incubation of AB120with hyphal C. albicans. Rate of engulfment was defined as the timetaken from cell-cell contact to complete ingestion of the C. albicanscell inside the macrophage resulting in a loss of green fluorescence.Bars represent average time taken for a macrophage to ingest a C.albicans cell ±SEM (n=3) *p<0.01, ***p<0.005.

FIG. 9—Macrophage engulfment of opsonized live C. albicans cells in thepresence and absence of an FcγR blocker. The average time taken for amacrophage to ingest a live C. albicans cell following pre-incubationwith saline or an anti-whole cell mAb (AB140) in the presence or absenceof an FcγR block. Bars represent average time taken for a macrophage toingest a C. albicans cell ±SEM (n=3) *p<0.05.

FIG. 10—Macrophage migration towards C. albicans cells followingpre-incubation with saline, an isotype control mAb or anti-Candida mAb.FIG. 10A shows mean velocity of macrophages as they migrate towards C.albicans cells following pre-incubation with saline, an IgG1 controlmAb, or an anti-whole cell mAb (AB140). Bars represent macrophage meantrack velocity ±SEM (n=3). FIG. 10B shows average distance travelled bya macrophage to engulf a C. albicans cell following pre-incubation withsaline, an IgG1 control mAb, or an anti-whole cell mAb (AB140). Barsrepresent average distance travelled ±SEM (n=3). FIGS. 10C, 10D and 10Eare tracking diagrams representing macrophage migration towards C.albicans cells pre-incubated with saline (blue), AB140 (pink) or IgG1control mAb (green). Tracks represent the movement of individualmacrophages relative to their starting position, up until the firstuptake event. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.005.

FIG. 11—Assessment of anti-Candida mAbs in an in vivo model ofdisseminated candidiasis. C. albicans SC5314 was pre-incubated withsaline, IgG1 control, anti-whole cell mAb (AB119) or anti-Hyr1 mAb(AB120) and then injected iv into the tail vein of BALB/c mice (n=6 pergroup). Kidney fungal burdens from each group were determined on day 3post infection (FIG. 11A) and combined with the change in animal weightduring the course of the infection to give an overall outcome score fordisease progression (FIG. 11B). Dots represent individual animals;horizontal lines represent mean, *p<0.05, **p<0.01.

FIG. 12—Schematic of VH, Vκ-Cκ and Vλ-Cλ cloning into pTT5 expressionvector. B cells positive for antigen binding in the initial ELISA screenwere lysed. mRNA in B cell lysate was used as a template for VH, Vκ-Cκand Vλ-Cλ gene amplification via RT-PCR. RT-PCR was carried out usingforward primers specific to human V domain leader sequences and reverseprimers specific for human IgCH1, Cκ or Cλ regions or light chain UTR.To increase the specificity of gene amplification, nested PCR wascarried out using RT-PCR products as the template. Forward primersspecific for human VH FW1 sequences and reverse primers specific forhuman VH FW4 sequences were used to amplify VH genes. To capture Vκ-Cκand Vλ-Cλ genes, forward primers specific to human Vκ and human Vλ FW1sequences were used in combination with reverse primers specific to the3′ end of the human Cκ or human Cλ regions. Primers used in nested PCRreactions contained 15 bp extensions which were complementary to thepTT5 expression vector to facilitate downstream Infusion cloning.Amplification of VH, Vκ-Cκ and Vλ-Cλ genes were done in separatereactions. RT-PCR—reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction; UTRuntranslated region; L—leader sequence; V_(H)—heavy chain variabledomain; Vκ—kappa chain variable domain; Vλ—lambda chain variable domain;C_(H)—heavy chain constant domain; Cκ—kappa chain constant domain;Cλ—lambda chain constant domain.

FIG. 13—Concentration response curves of purified anti-Hyr1 mAbsscreened for binding to unrelated proteins. (a, b) Purified anti-Hyr1mAbs screened against HSA and HEK NA respectively via ELISA. Valuesrepresent mean (n=2-4).

FIG. 14—Concentration response curves showing anti-whole cell mAbsscreened for binding to unrelated proteins. (a, b) Purified cell wallmAbs screened against HSA. (c, d) the same mAbs screened against HEK NAvia ELISA. Values represent mean (n=2-4)

FIG. 15—Indirect immunofluorescence of mAbs binding to WT CAI4-CIp10before and after enzymatic modification of the cell wall. Proteinase Ktreatment was used to reduce protein residues; Zymolyase 20T enzyme wasused to digest β-1,3-glucans; Endoglycosidase H treatment reducedN-linked glycans on the CAI4-CIp10 cell wall. Decrease in indirectimmunofluorescence after enzymatic treatments suggested the nature ofthe mAb epitopes. A fluorescently conjugated secondary goat anti-humanIgG antibody was used to detect anti-Candida mAb binding. Scale barsrepresent 4 μm.

FIG. 16—Human monocyte-derived macrophage phagocytosis of live C.albicans cells pre-incubated with saline, isotype control mAb oranti-Candida mAb. (a) Time at which an uptake event occurred over thefirst 90 min of the assay following C. albicans pre-incubation withsaline, an IgG1 control antibody, an anti-whole cell reactive mAb (AB119and AB140) or an anti-Hyr1 mAb (AB120). Bars represent percentage ofuptake events (n=2). (b) Percentage of these uptake events that occurredwithin the first 30 min of the assay. Dots represent average fromindividual experiments, line represents average (n=2) and (c) averagetime taken for a macrophage to engulf a live C. albicans cell followingpre-incubation with saline, an IgG1 control antibody, an anti-whole cellmAb (AB119 and AB140) or an anti-Hyr1 mAb (AB120) at a MOI of 3 (n=2).

FIG. 17—Counterimmunoelectrophoresis of anti-Candida mAbs with C.albicans. Purified anti-Candida mAbs AB119, AB140 and AB118C101S reactedwith yeast supernatant antigenic preparation and a crude yeast extract(a). AB119, AB140, AB118C101S and AB135 reacted with hyphal supernatantantigenic preparation and a crude hyphal extract (b).

FIG. 18—Immunogold localization of anti-Candida mAbs to the cell wall ofC. albicans yeast (top panel) and hyphal (bottom panel) cell walls.

EXAMPLE 1—GENERATION OF FULLY HUMAN ANTI-CANDIDA mAbs BY SINGLE B CELLCLONING

The generation of recombinant mAbs through direct amplification of VHand VL genes from single B cells produces fully human, affinity maturedmAbs with the native antibody heavy and light chain pairing intact (14).We employed this technology to generate human recombinant anti-CandidamAbs to a defined C. albicans antigen—the morphogenesis-regulatedprotein 1 (Hyr1) protein expressed only in the hyphal cell wall (40),and to C. albicans whole cell wall preparations. Hyr1 protein wasselected based on its role in proposed role in resisting phagocytekilling and pre-clinical data demonstrating that a recombinantN-terminal fragment of Hyr1 confers protection in a murine model ofdisseminated candidiasis (23, 29, 41). Furthermore, because Hyr1 isexpressed solely on C. albicans hyphal cells so mAbs generated againstthis protein would serve as C. albicans-specific markers. In addition weused C. albicans whole cell wall extracts as a target to screen againstallows for the isolation of mAbs that bind to an array of differentantigens, anticipating that some of the resulting mAbs would be panfungal and therefore possess a broad spectrum of therapeutic activityand pan-Candida diagnostic specificity.

To enhance the likelihood of isolating Candida-related antibodies, theclass switched memory (CSM) B cells used in this study were isolatedfrom the blood of individuals who had recovered from a superficialCandida infection within a year of sampling. Donors were selected from apanel of volunteers and the levels of target-specific circulating IgG inthe donor plasma was assessed via ELISA. In this screen, donor 85demonstrated the greatest IgG activity against C. albicans whole celland donor 23 had the highest IgG titre against Hyr1 (FIG. 2A). Thesedonors were selected to provide the source of B cells to use for thegeneration of Candida-specific recombinant antibodies. After theisolation of CSM B cells from a donor, approximately 80000-150000 cellswere plated out at 5 cells/well and activated with a cocktail ofcytokines and supplements to promote secretion of IgG into thesupernatant. A high throughput screening platform was then employed tofacilitate the detection of IgG in the B cell supernatant against targetantigens by ELISA. Positive ELISA hits enabled identification of wellscontaining B cells secreting antigen-specific IgG into the supernatant.Typically, approximately 0.05% wells/screen were positive(OD>4xbackground). Non-specific hits were identified and eliminated byperforming an ELISA screen against two unrelated proteins—human serumalbumin (HSA) and human embryonic kidney nuclear antigen (HEK NA). CSM Bcells from wells that were positive for the antigen screen and negativefor the unrelated protein screen were then lysed and used as the sourcefor VH, Vκ-Cκ and Vλ-Cλ gene amplification via RT-PCR and nested PCR(FIGS. 2B, C). VH, Vκ-Cκ and Vλ-Cλ genes were sub cloned into the pTT5mammalian expression vector and the sequences analysed (data not shown).Corresponding heavy and light chains originating from the same hit wellwere co-transfected into Expi293F cells for small scale whole IgG1expression. From these co-transfections, recombinant mAbs thatdemonstrated binding to the original target were selected for largescale recombinant expression. These were then purified viaaffinity-based FPLC using a protein A resin and quality control checkedvia analytical mass spectrometry, SDS-PAGE gel analysis and analyticalSEC (FIGS. 2D-G).

In total, 18 purified recombinant IgG1 mAbs were generated using thesingle B cell technology described above. Five of these mAbs bound topurified Hyr1 protein and 13 bound to C. albicans whole cells (TableS3).

EXAMPLE 2—PURIFIED RECOMBINANT ANTI-CANDIDA mAbs EXHIBIT SPECIFIC TARGETBINDING

Purified anti-Hyr1 mAbs were primarily assessed for functionalitythrough binding to the purified recombinant N-terminus of Hyr1 proteinvia ELISA. Four of the five mAbs demonstrated strong binding to thepurified antigen with EC₅₀ values of 104 ng/ml, 76.5 ng/ml, 49.6 ng/mland 53.3 ng/ml for AB120, AB121, AB122 and AB123 (FIG. 3A) respectively.AB124 bound to Hyr1 with a lower affinity with an EC₅₀ value of 1050ng/ml. To examine the specificity of these mAbs for the target protein,all five were tested against the unrelated antigens HSA and HEK nuclearantigen as negative controls and demonstrated no binding (FIG. 13).

The purified recombinant anti-whole cell mAbs were originally screenedand isolated against C. albicans overnight culture. As such, the initialQC of these mAbs was to assess their binding to C. albicans whole cellsvia ELISA. The majority of purified anti-whole cell mAbs bound C.albicans yeast cells with high affinity with EC₅₀ values ranging from2.8 to 31.1 ng/ml (FIGS. 3B, C). AB134 and AB135, which have similaramino acid sequences, both demonstrated slightly lower affinity for thetarget with EC₅₀ values of 1060 and 224 ng/ml respectively (FIG. 3C).

Purified anti-whole cell mAbs exhibited a variety of affinities whenbinding to C. albicans cells where both yeast and hyphal morphologieswere present (FIGS. 3D, E). The majority bound these cells with highaffinity with EC₅₀ values ranging between 3 and 50 ng/ml. As observedwith C. albicans yeast cell binding, AB134 and AB135 demonstratedslightly lower affinities with EC₅₀ values of 684 and 69.4 ng/ml. EC₅₀values were used here as a simple comparison to demonstrate thevariability in anti-whole cell mAbs binding to C. albicans cell surfaceantigens. Therefore this methodology generated a panel of mAbs whichbound to a variety of specific cell targets. Specificity of theanti-whole cell mAbs for a target C. albicans antigen was assessedthrough binding to the two unrelated antigens HSA and HEK NA. All mAbsdemonstrated no binding to these antigens confirming their specificityfor the fungal cells (FIG. 14).

EXAMPLE 3—PURIFIED RECOMBINANT ANTI-CANDIDA mAbs SHOW DISTINCT BINDINGPATTERNS TO C. ALBICANS AND OTHER FUNGAL SPECIES

The recombinant anti-Hyr1 mAbs generated by single B cell technologywere initially isolated by screening against N-terminus of Hyr1 proteinand, following purification, demonstrated binding to this recombinantantigen (above). We then visualized binding of these mAbs to Hyr1protein expressed on the C. albicans cell surface by immunofluorescentstaining using a fluorescently labelled secondary anti-human IgG mAb fordetection. It was observed that the anti-Hyr1 mAbs bound to thepredicted cellular location on the hyphae, and not the WT C. albicansyeast cells grown in different culture conditions (FIG. 4A). We verifiedthat the anti-Hyr1 mAbs did not bind to hyphae of a Δhyr1 null mutant(FIG. 4B) and that binding was restored in a C. albicans straincontaining a single reintegrated copy of the deleted HYR1 gene (FIG.4C).

Next we visualised binding to WT C. albicans for the anti-whole cellmAbs via indirect immunofluorescent staining. The anti-whole cell mAbsdemonstrated a range of binding profiles to WT C. albicans (FIG. 5).mAbs AB118, AB119, AB129, AB130, AB133, AB134, AB135, AB139, AB140 boundstrongly to both C. albicans yeast and hyphae (FIG. 5A). AB132 bound toboth yeast and hyphae but exhibited stronger binding to hyphae (FIG.5B). AB126 and AB131 appeared to be hypha-specific (FIG. 5C) and AB127stained the mother yeast cell and the tip of the growing hyphae (FIG.5D). Therefore the panel of antibodies apparently detected bothmorphology specific and morphology-independent epitopes.

C. albicans cells were enzymatically treated with proteinase K,endoglycosidase H (endo-H) and zymolyase 20T and assessed for mAbbinding. Proteinase K treatment reduced AB120 (anti-Hyr1) but notanti-whole cell mAbs binding to C. albicans confirming that anti-Hyr1antibody recognised a protein epitope (FIG. 15a ). Following zymolyase20T and endo-H treatments, binding of other anti-whole cell mAbsdecreased suggesting that the cognate epitopes might be β-glucan orN-mannan respectively (FIG. 15b, c ). Some anti-whole cell mAbsdemonstrated increased fluorescence after enzymatic treatment suggestingthat their epitopes might be located deeper in the cell wall.

Commensurate with the C. albicans-specific nature of HYR1, anti-Hyr1mAbs only bound to C. albicans and not to a range of other Candidaspecies (FIG. 6a ). In contrast, a range of binding patterns wereobserved for the binding of anti-whole cell mAbs to other pathogenicfungal species. The majority of mAbs bound strongly to the closelyrelated species C. dubliniensis, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis and C.lusitaniae. There was little binding of mAbs to the more distantlyrelated C. glabrata and C. krusei. Only the homologous AB131 and AB132antibodies demonstrated some weak binding to C. krusei (FIG. 6b ).

To assess for pan-fungal binding activity, all the anti-whole cell mAbswere tested against A. fumigatus. C. neoformans, C. gattii, P. carinii,M. circinelloides and M. dermatis but no binding was observed (FIG. 6b). Therefore the anti-Hyr1 mAbs are C. albicans-specific and theanti-whole cell mAbs demonstrate a variety of binding patterns to WT C.albicans and other pathogenic Candida species, indicating that theytarget a range of different antigens and the expression levels of theseantigens varies from species to species.

In conclusion, all purified recombinant mAbs generated by this single Bcell technology bound specifically to their target antigens with highaffinity. As expected, the anti-whole cell mAbs demonstrated distinctbinding patterns to WT C. albicans and other pathogenic fungi,indicating that they target a range of different antigens and theexpression levels of these antigens varies from species to species.

EXAMPLE 4—PURIFIED RECOMBINANT ANTI-CANDIDA mAbs OPSONISE C. ALBICANSFOR PHAGOCYTOSIS BY MACROPHAGES

Phagocytic cells of the innate immune system are the first line ofdefence against fungal pathogens. Antibody binding enhances phagocyticclearance of pathogens. We utilised a live cell phagocytosis assay toexamine whether the anti-Candida mAbs generated in this study opsonizedC. albicans for phagocytosis by J774.1 macrophages and humanmonocyte-derived macrophages. The macrophages were challenged with live,C. albicans CAI4-CIp10 which had been pre-incubated with an anti-CandidamAb, an isotype control mAb or saline for 1 h. Live cell videomicroscopy using our standard phagocytosis assay (42, 43) was employedto determine the degree of opsonisation. No significant difference wasobserved between the saline control and anti-Candida mAb groups in termsof the overall number of C. albicans cells taken up during the 3 h bymacrophages. However, there was a difference in the time by which themajority of uptake events had occurred (FIG. 7A). C. albicans cells thathad been pre-incubated with either AB118, AB119 or AB140 (anti-wholecell mAbs) were taken more rapidly compared to the salinecontrol-treated fungal cells, the IgG1 control pre-incubated fungalcells or AB120 pre-incubated fungal cells. The percentage of uptakeevents occurring by 20 min was 21±10, 54±9, 22±5 and 68±2, 44.3±0.6 and7±2 (mean±SD) for saline control, AB118, AB120, AB140, AB119 and isotypecontrol respectively (FIG. 7A). A majority of C. albicans cellspre-incubated with AB118, AB119 or AB140 were taken up as yeast cellsand the majority of cells taken up by the saline control group, AB120group and isotype control group, were hyphal cells (FIG. 7B).

EXAMPLE 5—MACROPHAGES RAPIDLY ENGULF mAb-BOUND C. ALBICANS CELLS THROUGHFcvR BINDING

Next we used live cell video microscopy and image analysis to examinewhether there was any difference in the rate of engulfment between C.albicans cells pre-incubated with saline compared to C. albicans cellspre-incubated with selected anti-Candida mAbs. As shown previously wedefined the rate of engulfment as the time taken from establishment ofcell-cell contact to the time at which a C. albicans cell had beencompletely engulfed by a macrophage as indicated by its loss of FITCgreen fluorescence (42, 43) (FIGS. 8A-C). When C. albicans yeast cellswere pre-incubated with AB120 (anti-Hyr1 mAb) there was no difference inthe rate of engulfment from the saline control or IgG1 control mAbhowever, in the presence of either AB118, AB119 or AB140 (anti-wholecell mAbs), fungal cells were engulfed at a significantly faster ratecompared to the saline control and IgG1 control mAb, (FIG. 8D). Thehypha-specific mAb AB120 stimulated faster macrophage engulfment of C.albicans hyphal cells by macrophages—taking an average of 5.8±0.3 min toengulf opsonised hyphae compared to 8.8±0.8 min for the control (FIG.8E).

Similar observations were obtained using human monocyte-derivedmacrophages (FIG. 16).

Blocking FcγRs on the surface of the macrophage decreased the rate ofengulfment of AB140-bound C. albicans compared to that of the salinecontrol (FIG. 9) indicating that the increased rate of engulfment ofmAb-bound Candida cells is, at least in part, due to uptake through theFcγRs.

EXAMPLE 6—MACROPHAGES MIGRATE FURTHER, FASTER AND MORE DIRECT TOWARDSANTI-CANDIDA mAb BOUND C. ALBICANS CELLS

We showed that antibody-bound C. albicans cells were cleared earlier bymacrophages than control cells. To determine the effect of antibodybinding on uptake dynamics, we used imaging analysis to digitise themigration of macrophages until their first uptake event, measuring thedistance travelled, directionality and velocity of the macrophagetowards control or antibody-bound fungal cells. Macrophages travelledfurther and at a greater velocity towards C. albicans yeast cells thathad been pre-incubated with a whole-cell mAb (AB140) compared to controlfungal cells or those pre-incubated with IgG1 control mAb (FIG. 10 A,B).Furthermore we observed that macrophages moved in a more directionalmanner towards antibody-bound C. albicans cells compared to controlcells or those pre-incubated with IgG1 control mAb (FIGS. 10 C, D andE).

EXAMPLE 7—ANTI-WHOLE CELL mAb REDUCES FUNGAL BURDEN IN A MODEL OFDISSEMINATED CANDIDIASIS

To determine whether the anti-Candida mAbs possessed therapeuticpotential in vivo, their action was assessed in a murine model ofsystemic candidiasis (44). C. albicans SC5314 yeast cells werepre-incubated for 1 h with either saline, an IgG1 isotype control mAb,AB119 (anti-whole cell) or AB120 (anti-Hyr1) before iv injection intothe mouse lateral tail vein. Disease progression was monitored by weightchange and kidney fungal burdens at day 3 which together generated anoverall outcome score for disease progression (44). When SC5314 waspre-incubated with AB120 there was no decrease in fungal burden comparedto the saline control or the IgG1 control mAb (FIG. 11A). However, whenAB119 was pre-incubated with SC5314, there was a significant decrease inkidney fungal burden compared to the saline control (FIG. 11A, p<0.01).This was also considerably less than the kidney fungal burden for theIgG1 isotype control. By weight change there was no significantdifference in disease outcome score between AB120 and the saline controland isotype control (FIG. 11B). However, mice that had been injectedwith SC5314 pre-incubated with AB119 had a significantly lower diseaseoutcome score than both the saline control group (p<0.01) and theisotype control group (p<0.05) indicating that when AB119 is present,the mice are able to clear infection more quickly and diseaseprogression is limited (FIG. 11B). Therefore exposure to antibodyimproved the survival of mice in a systemic disease model.

EXAMPLE 8—DISCUSSION OF EXAMPLES 1-7

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have the potential to be used in multiplefungal therapy and disease management situations. Here we describe anduse for the first time a novel technology facilitating the isolation offully human anti-Candida mAbs against whole cells and a specificcellular target. These mAbs were derived directly from single B cellsfrom donors with a history of mucosal Candida infection and demonstrateddistinct binding profiles to C. albicans and other pathogenic fungi, aswell as the ability to opsonise fungal cells and to enhance phagocytosisand show partial protection in a murine model of disseminatedcandidiasis.

mAbs-based agents have been identified as an alternative strategy tocomplement the medical gaps associated with current antifungaltreatments and diagnostics (13, 45, 46). In this study we generated 18fully human recombinant anti-Candida mAbs through the directamplification of mRNA isolated from VH and VL antibody genes producednaturally in vivo in response to a Candida infection. By employing thismethod, the purified, affinity matured recombinant mAbs generated wereless likely to be immunogenic, had importantly retained their nativeantibody heavy and light chain pairings, and therefore are more likelyto be of therapeutic benefit (35). IgG1 was selected as the antibodyscaffold because this isotype makes up the majority of mAbs in theclinic and so is the best characterised in terms of drug development(47, 48). Thirteen of the mAbs generated bound to C. albicans whole celland 5 bound to recombinant purified Hyr1 protein—a protein which isconsidered to be important for C. albicans resistance to phagocytosisand is currently in development as an experimental vaccine (29, 41)demonstrating that this novel technology can be utilised for screeningagainst a wide range of specific antigens.

An antibody that recognises an antigen expressed across different fungalspecies could be highly beneficial as a pan-fungal therapeutic. At thesame time, one of the major contributors to poor prognosis in the clinicis the lack of accurate and timely diagnostics with a knock on delay inappropriate treatment (6, 7, 49). In this case, it would be morebeneficial to have a species-specific antibody which recognises anantigen only expressed on one species. As such, we assessed binding ofour panel of mAbs to a number of emerging and resistant pathogenicfungi. We observed that anti-Hyr1 mAbs bound solely to C. albicanshyphae, correlating with findings that have reported that Hyr1 is onlyexpressed on C. albicans hyphal cells (29, 40, 50). The binding patternof anti-whole cell mAbs was more varied with the majority of mAbsbinding strongly to the species that are closely related to C. albicanssuch as the emerging pathogens C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis (51).As expected, little or no binding was observed to the moreevolutionarily distinct species C. glabrata and C. krusei. Altogetherthis demonstrates that the novel technology employed here can beutilised to generate species-specific as well as pan fungal mAbs, whichhas great implications in terms of anti-fungal drug discovery anddiagnostics. Furthermore, these mAbs could be utilised to isolate andidentify protective antigens for development as fungal vaccines.

One of the many ways mAbs exert their protective effects is throughopsonizing cells for phagocytosis (15). We have shown previously that byemploying live cell imaging we can breakdown this process down into itscomponent parts, thus allowing us to do a more in-depth analysis on theeffect of mAbs on the individual stages of phagocytosis (42, 43). Herewe observed that when yeast and hyphal cells were coated with ananti-whole cell mAb or a hyphal cell was coated with an anti-Hyr1 mAb,cells were engulfed at a significantly faster rate compared tounopsonized cells, and this was through engagement of the FcγR.Furthermore, macrophages migrated further, faster and in a more directmanner towards opsonized C. albicans cells and this contributed toearlier clearance of fungal cells.

A number of invasive infections occur in the immunocompetent patientpopulation as a consequence of severe trauma, and in these situationsopsonizing mAbs could be a viable treatment option. The majority ofantibody therapeutics in the clinic are hIgG1 so this isotype has beenroutinely tested pre-clinically in murine models of disease (47).Furthermore, the literature shows that hIgG1 binds to all activatingmFcγRs with a similar profile to the most potent IgG isotype in mice,mIgG2a, validating the use of mouse models to assess Fc-mediated effectsof hIgG1 mAbs (47). As such, we utilised an established three-day murinemodel of disseminated candidiasis (44, 52) to assess the efficacy ofanti-Candida mAbs in vivo and observed a significant decrease in kidneyfungal burden and overall disease outcome score when C. albicans waspre-incubated with an anti-whole cell mAb.

We have generated fully human antibodies from single B-cells to createreagents that have high specificity for targets with utility in theantifungal diagnostic and therapeutic markets. The antibodies are ofhigh affinity and are and can be synthesised in milligram quantitiesunder defined conditions for heterologous protein expression.

The relative by which these antibodies can be produced means that theycould be used singly or in multiplex formats to create novel polyvalentdiagnostic tests, as vaccine Candidates or as therapeutic deliverysystems to target toxic molecules to specific microbial or cellulartargets.

EXAMPLE 9—CIE ANALYSIS

FIG. 17 shows the results of counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE)analysis. This shows selected mAbs were able to detect C. albicansantigens in a format commonly used for the diagnosis of patients with aCandida infection.

EXAMPLE 10—TEM ANALYSIS

FIG. 18 shows transmitting electron microscopy (TEM) images illustratingthe binding of a select panel (one mAb from each CDR3 amino acidsequence cluster) of the anti-whole cell mAbs to C. albicans yeast andhyphal cell walls via immunogold labelling. The images show that themAbs are very specific to the cell wall and that there are a variety ofbinding targets, for example AB126, AB127 and AB131 appear mainly tobind to hypha, whereas AB118C101S, AB119, AB140 and AB135 appear to bindto more abundantly expressed targets in both yeast and hyphal cells.

General Methods Candida Strains and Growth Conditions

C. albicans serotype A strain CAI4+CIp10 (NGY152) was used as a controland its parent strain CAI4, used to construct the Δhyr1 null mutant C.albicans strain (40) and the hyr1 re-integrant strain (unpublished). Theclinical isolates C. albicans SC5314, C. glabrata SC571182B, C.tropicalis AM2005/0546, C. parapsilosis ATCC22019, C. lusitaniaeSC5211362H, C. krusei SC571987M, C. dubliniensis CD36 are shown in TableS1. All strains were obtained from glycerol stocks stored at −80° C. andplated onto YPD plates (2% (w/v) mycological peptone (Oxoid, Cambridge,UK), 1% (w/v) yeast extract (Oxoid), 2% (w/v) glucose (FisherScientific, Leicestershire, UK) and 2% (w/v) technical agar (Oxoid)).Candida strains tested were routinely grown in YPD (see above withoutthe technical agar) except in the in vivo experiments where strains weregrown in NGY medium (0.1% (w/v) Neopeptone (BD Biosciences), 0.4% (w/v)glucose (Fisher Scientific), 0.1% (w/v) yeast extract (Oxoid).Aspergillus fumigatus clinical isolate V05-27 was cultured on PotatoDextrose Agar slants for seven days before the spores were harvested bygentle shaking with sterile 0.1% Tween 20 in PBS. Harvested spores werepurified, counted and re-suspended at a concentration of 1×10⁸spores/ml. Swollen spores were generated by incubation in RPMI media for4 h at 37° C.

Malassezia dermatis CBS9169 was cultured on Modified Dixon agar (3.6%(w/v) Malt extract (Oxoid), 1% (w/v) Bacto peptone (BD Biosciences), 2%(w/v) Bile salts (Oxoid), 1% (w/v) Tween40 (Sigma), 0.2% (w/v) Glycerol(Acros Organics), 0.2% (w/v) Oleic acid (Fisher Scientific), 1.5%technical Agar (Oxoid)) supplemented with chloramphenicol (0.05% (w/v)Sigma) and cycloheximide (0.05% (w/v) Sigma)). Overnight culture of M.dermatis was grown in Modified Dixon Medium. Mucor circinelloidesCBS277.49 was grown on Potato Dextrose Agar for 7 days before sporeswere harvested in PBS and filtered through 40 μm Nylon Cell Strainer (BDBiosciences). Cryptococcus neoformans KN99α and Cryptococcus gattii R265were grown in YPD overnight, washed in PBS and 1×10⁷ cells were added to6 ml RPMI+10% FCS in 6 well-plates. Plates were incubated at 37° C.+5%CO₂ for 5 days to induce capsule formation. Harvested cells were washedin PBS. Rat lung tissue isolates of Pneumocystis carinii M167-6 werewashed in PBS and immunostained.

Generation of Recombinant Hyr1 N-protein

The recombinant N-terminus of the Hyr1 protein (amino acids 63 to350—Table S2) incorporating an N-terminal 6xHis tag was expressed inHEK293F cells and purified by nickel-based affinity chromatography usinga nickel NTA superflow column (QIAGEN, USA). Fractions containing therecombinant N-terminus of the Hyr1 protein were pooled and furtherpurified via Analytical Superdex 200 gel filtration chromatography (GEHealthcare, USA) in PBS. QC of the recombinant protein via SDS-PAGE gelanalysis, analytical size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and Westernblot (using an anti-His antibody for detection) confirmed a protein of32 kDa (data not shown).

Identification of Human Anti-Hyr1 and Anti-Whole Cell mAbs from Donor BCells PBMC Isolation

In brief, peripheral venous blood from donors who had recovered from aCandida infection within the last year was collected in EDTA-coatedvacutainers tubes and pooled. PBMCs and plasma were separated from thewhole blood suspension via density gradient separation using AccuspinSystem-Histopaque-1077 kits (Sigma-Aldrich) according to manufacturer'sinstructions. Following separation, the plasma layer was aspirated andstored at 4° C. for later analysis of antibody titre and the PBMC layerwas aspirated and washed in PBS and centrifugation at 250×g for 10 minthree times before final resuspension at a concentration of 1×10⁷cells/ml in R10 media (RPMI 1640 (Gibco, Life Technologies), 10% FCS, 1mM sodium pyruvate (Sigma), 10 mM HEPES (Gibco, Life Technologies), 4 mML-glutamine (Sigma), 1x penicillin/streptomycin (Sigma)) containingadditional 10% FCS and 10% DMSO. PBMCs were split into 1 ml aliquots andstored in liquid nitrogen until they were required.

Purification of Donor Plasma

IgG was purified from donor plasma using VivaPure MaxiPrepG Spin columns(Sartorius Stedman) according to manufacturer's instructions. In brief,plasma sample was applied to the spin column to facilitate IgG binding.The column was washed twice in PBS and then bound IgG was eluted in anamine buffer, pH 2.5 and neutralized with 1 M Tris buffer, pH8. ElutedIgG concentration was measured by absorbance at 280 nm using a NanoVuePlus Spectrophotometer (GE Healthcare).

Circulating IgG Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) to IdentifyDonors with B Cells to Take Forward

To identify the donor to use for subsequent class switched memory (CSM)B cell isolation and activation, ELISAs were carried out against thetarget antigens using IgG purified from donor plasma. NUNC maxisorp384-well plates (Sigma) were coated with C. albicans overnight culture(whole cell) or 1 μg/ml purified, recombinant N-terminus hyr1 proteinantigen in 1×PBS and incubated at 4° C. overnight. The next day, wellswere washed three times with wash buffer (1×PBS+0.05% Tween) using aZoom Microplate Washer (Titertek). Wells were then blocked with blockbuffer (1×PBS+0.05% Tween+0.5% BSA) for 1 h at room temperature withgentle shaking to inhibit non-specific binding. After three washes (asabove), titrated purified IgG or IVIG in block buffer was added induplicate, and the plates were incubated for 2 h at room temperaturewith gentle shaking. Wells were washed with wash buffer as above beforeaddition of goat anti-human IgG, HRP conjugated (ThermoScientific)secondary antibody at 1:5000 dilution in blocking buffer. Plates wereincubated for 45 min at room temperature with gentle shaking. To developthe ELISA, wells were washed three times with wash buffer (as above)before the addition of TMB (Thermo Scientific). Plates were incubated atroom temperature for 5 min to allow the blue colour to develop and thereaction was quenched by the addition of 0.18 M sulphuric acid. Theplates were then read at an OD of 450 nm on an Envision plate reader(PerkinElmer). Labstats software in Microsoft Excel was used to generateconcentration-response curves for EC₅₀ determination and donor selectionfor subsequent CSM B cell isolation and activation.

Isolation of Class Switched Memory B Cells

The PBMCs from donors who displayed a strong IgG response to the antigenof interest in the screening ELISA were taken forward for CSM B cellisolation and activation. The process of generating recombinant mAbsfrom a single donor's B cells to one particular antigen, beginning withthe isolation of CSM B cells all the way through to expression andpurification of recombinant mAbs, was termed an ‘Activation’. For eachActivation, 5×10⁷ PBMCs were removed from the liquid nitrogen store andthawed by adding pre-warmed R10 media drop wise to the cells. Thediluted cell suspension was then transferred into a fresh polypropylenetube containing pre-warmed R10, resulting in a final cell dilution ofapproximately 1:10. Benzonase nuclease HC, purity >99% (Novagen) wasadded at a 1:10000 dilution (to ensure any lysed cells and theircomponents didn't interfere with the live cells), and the cells werecentrifuged at 300×g for 10 min at room temperature and the supernatantremoved. PBMCs were then washed again in R10 before final resuspensionin 1 ml R10 for PBMC cell number and viability determination.

Isolation of class switched memory B cells from PBMCs was carried out bymagnetic bead separation using a Switched Memory B cell isolation kitwith Pre-Separation Filters and LS columns (MACS Miltenyi Biotec)according to manufacturer's instructions. In brief, counted PBMCs wereincubated with a cocktail of biotin-conjugated antibodies against CD2,CD14, CD16, CD36, CD43, CD235a (glycophorin A), IgM and IgD. Cells werethen washed and incubated with anti-biotin microbeads. Following anotherwash step, the suspension was passed through a Pre-Separation Filter (toremove cell aggregates) before applying it to an LS column where themagnetically labelled cells were retained in the column and theunlabelled CSM B cells passed through and could be collected in theflow-through for determination of cell number and viability.

Activation of CSM B Cells

To activate CSM B cells and promote antibody secretion into thesupernatant, a mixture of cytokines, mAb, TLR agonist and a supplementwere added to the R10 media (see above) to make complete R10 media. CSMB cells were resuspended in complete R10 media at 56 cells/ml and thenplated out at 90 μl/well (5 cells/well) in ThermoFisher Matrix 384 wellplates using a Biomek FX (Beckman Coulter). Cells were incubated at 37°C., 5% CO₂ for seven days. On day 7, 30 μl/well of supernatant wasremoved and replaced with 30 μl fresh complete R10. On day 13, all thesupernatant was harvested from all plates and screened against theantigen of interest via ELISA. B cell activation and culturing wasmonitored by measuring IgG1 concentrations in B cell supernatants at day7 and day 13.

B Cell Supernatant Screen Against Target Antigens Via ELISA

For B cell supernatant screening against target antigens, NUNC maxisorp384-well plates (Sigma) were coated with C. albicans overnight culture(whole cell) or 1 μg/ml purified, recombinant N-terminus hyr1 proteinantigen in 1×PBS and incubated at 4° C. overnight. Wells were washedthree times with wash buffer using a Zoom Microplate Washer (Titertek)as above before incubation with blocking buffer for 1 h at roomtemperature with gentle shaking. After another three washes (as above),B cell supernatant was added and the plates incubated for 2 h at roomtemperature with gentle shaking. Wells were washed with wash buffer asabove before addition of goat anti-human IgG, HRP conjugated(ThermoScientific) secondary antibody at 1:5000 dilution in blockingbuffer and incubation for 45 min at room temperature with gentleshaking. ELISAs were developed and plates read at an OD of 450 nm on anEnvision plate reader (PerkinElmer).

Positive hits were defined as wells with an OD₄₅₀ reading>4xbackground.B cells in ‘positive hit’ wells were resuspended in lysis buffer (mlDEPC-treated H2O (Life Technologies), 10 μl 1 M Tris pH 8, 25 μl RNAsinPlus RNAse Inhibitor (Promega)) and stored at −80° C.

Generation of Recombinant Anti-Hyr1 and Anti-Whole Cell IgG1 mAbs:Amplification of VH, Vκ-Cκ and Vλ-Cλ Genes—cDNA Synthesis and PCR

A schematic of the cloning protocol is shown in FIG. 12. Primers usedfor the RT-PCR reaction were based on those used by Smith et. al., (36).To ensure all possible VH germline families were captured during theamplification, four forward primers specific to the leader sequencesencompassing the different human VH germline families (VH1-7) were usedin combination with two reverse primers; both placed in the human CgCH1region. For the RT-PCR of human Vκ-Cκ genes, three forward primersspecific to the leader sequences for the different human Vκ germlinefamilies (Vκ1-4) were used with a reverse primer specific to the humankappa constant region (Cκ) and two further reverse primers which werespecific to the C- and N-terminal ends of the 3′ untranslated region(UTR). To capture the repertoire of human Vλ genes, 7 forward primerscapturing the leader sequences for the different human Vλ germlinefamilies (Vλ1-8) were used in a mixture with two reverse primers whichwere complementary to the C- and N-terminal ends of the 3′ UTR andanother reverse primer specific to the human lambda constant region(Cλ).

Prior to cDNA synthesis, B cell lysates were thawed and diluted 1:5,1:15 and 1:25 in nuclease-free H₂O (Life Technologies) before additionof oligodT₂₀ (50 μM) (Invitrogen, Life Technologies) and incubation at70° C. for 5 min. Reverse transcription and the first PCR reaction(RT-PCR) were done sequentially using the QIAGEN OneStep RT-PCR kitaccording to manufacturer's instructions. For this step and thesubsequent nested PCR step, amplification of the variable domain ofhuman Ig heavy chain genes (VH), the variable and constant domains ofhuman Ig kappa light chain genes (Vκ-Cκ) and the variable and constantdomains of human Ig lambda light chain genes (Vλ-Cλ), were done inseparate reactions. In brief, a reaction mixture was prepared containingQIAGEN OneStep RT-PCR Buffer 5x, dNTPs (10 mM), gene-specific forwardand reverse primer mixes (10 μM), QIAGEN OneStep RT-PCR Enzyme Mix andnuclease-free H₂O. Reaction mixture was then added to wells of a 96-wellPCR plate before addition of neat or diluted (1:5, 1:15, 1:25) B celllysate as the template, resulting in a final reaction volume of 50μl/well. The following cycling conditions were used for the RT-PCRreaction; 50° C. for 30 min, 95° C. for 15 min then 35-40 cycles of (94°C. for 1 min, 55° C. for 1 min and 72° C. for 1 min) with a finalextension at 72° C. for 10 min.

Amplification of VH, Vκ-Cκ and Vλ-Cλ Genes—Nested PCR Reaction

Nested PCR reactions were carried out using the PCR products from theRT-PCR reaction as the template, nested gene-specific primers based onSmith et al. (36) and Platinum PCR SuperMix High-Fidelity (Invitrogen,Life Technologies). A total of 27 forward primers specific for the VHframework 1 (FW1) sequence were used together with two reverse primersspecific for the framework 4 (FW4) region of the VH gene. For nested PCRof the Vκ-Cκ gene, a mixture of 18 forward primers specific for human VκFW1 sequence were used with a reverse primer specific to the human kappaconstant region 3′ end. For amplification of the Vλ-Cλ gene, a mixtureof 31 forward primers specific for human Vλ FW1 sequences were usedtogether with a reverse primer that was placed at the 3′ end of thehuman lambda constant region. The primers used to generate the PCRfragments in these nested PCR reactions contained 15 bp extensions whichwere complementary to the target downstream pTT5 expression vector.Reaction mixtures containing Platinum PCR SuperMix High Fidelity,gene-specific forward primer mix (10 μM) and gene specific reverseprimer mix (10 μM) was added to wells in a 96-well PCR plate beforeaddition of cDNA template. Amplification of VH genes, Vκ-Cκ genes andVλ-Cλ genes, were done in separate reactions. After the nested PCRreaction, samples were analysed via agarose gel electrophoresis andpositive hits identified and taken forward for downstream InFusioncloning with pTT5 mammalian expression vector.

pTT5 Mammalian Expression Vector Preparation

The pTT5mammalian expression used for mAb expression (licensed from theNational Research Council of Canada (NRCC)) (53). The pTT5 vectorplasmid contained an IgG1 heavy chain gene in the multiple cloning siteso digestion to generate the heavy chain (HC) backbone for downstreamsub cloning of VH was done by double digestion using FastDigestRestriction enzymes (Thermo Scientific) with BssHII before the leadersequence of the VH region and Sall restriction after the FW4 of the VHdomain. This yielded the heavy chain constant region in the vectorbackbone. For double digestion of the vector to generate the light chain(LC) backbone, the whole IgG1 heavy chain gene was with BssHII and BamHIastDigest Restriction enzymes (Thermo Scientific) to generate the vectorready for insertion of either κ-Cκ or Vλ-Cλ. Digestion reactions togenerate HC and LC backbones were carried out separately. Followingconfirmation of digestion, samples were run on a 1% agarose gel andbands were excised from the gel and purified using the QIAquick GelExtraction kit (QIAGEN). DNA was quantified on a NanoVue PlusSpectrophotometer (GE Healthcare). To prevent vector self-ligation, the3′- and 5′- termini of the linearized plasmids were dephosphorylatedusing FastAP Thermosensitive Alkaline phosphatase (Thermo Scientific).Reaction mixtures were cleaned up using the MinElute Reaction CleanupKit (QIAGEN) and then run on a 1% agarose gel. Bands corresponding todephosphorylated HC and LC backbones were excised from the gel andpurified using the QIAQuick Gel Extraction kit (QIAGEN) as above.Dephosphorylated linearized vector DNA was quantified on a NanoVue Plusspectrophotometer (GE Healthcare).

In-Fusion Cloning

The In-Fusion HD Cloning Kit (Clontech, USA) was used to clone the IgGVH, Vκ-Cκ and Vλ-Cλ genes into a pTT5 mammalian expression vector. Toavoid the need for nested PCR product purification before cloning,cloning enhancer (Clontech, USA) was added to each nested PCR product ina 96-well PCR plate and incubated at 37° C. for 15 min, then 80° C. for15 min. The cloning enhancer-treated PCR product was then added to theIn-Fusion Enzyme Premix and linearized vector DNA (˜5-10 ng). Reactionswere made up to 10 μl with nuclease-free H₂O and incubated for 15 min at50° C. Samples were then either stored at −20° C. or placed on icebefore transformation of Stellar Competent cells (Clontech). Fortransformation, 2 μl of each In-Fusion reaction mixture was added tocells in a 96-well plate format, and left on ice for 30 min before heatshock at 42° C. for 40 sec and then returning to ice for 2 min. Cellswere then recovered in SOC medium (Clontech, USA) with gentle shaking at37° C. for 45-60 min before plating out onto LB agar plates (1% (w/v)tryptone, 0.5% (w/v) yeast extract, 1% (w/v) NaCl, 1.5% (w/v) agar)containing 100 μg/ml ampicillin. Plates were incubated at 37° C.overnight and single colonies picked the next day.

Plasmid DNA Generation for Transfection

Following transformation, 8-16 single colonies per initial hit well forVH, Vκ and Vλ were picked and used to inoculate 2xTY media containing100 μg/ml ampicillin in a Greiner deep well, 96-well plate (Sigma). VH,Vκ and Vλ plates were set up separately with the same plate layout tofacilitate visual screening. Cells were grown at 37° C., 200 rpmovernight, and glycerol stocks were made the following day and stored at−80° C. To ensure accurate tracking of DNA sequences for downstreamsequencing and transfections, each well inoculated by a single colonywas given a unique ID based on the colony's original hit well and itsposition in the deep well 96 well plate following transformations. Toobtain plasmid DNA for gene sequencing and small scale mammaliantransfections, DNA minipreps from the overnight cultures were carriedout in a 96-well plate format using the EPmotion (Eppendorf), accordingto manufacturer's instructions. DNA not taken for gene sequencing wasstored at −20° C. until required for small scale transfections. Sequencedata was analysed for CDR diversity and comparisons to germlinesequences and used to identify clones to take forward for small scaletransfection.

Small Scale Expression of Recombinant mAbs

Following VH, Vκ and Vλ gene sequencing, a file was generated containingall possible VH and Vκ/Vλ combinations resulting from the original hitwells from the primary ELISA screen. Automated mixing of the nativeheavy and light chain DNA pairing combinations (1.5 μg of HC plasmid DNAand 1.5 μg of LC plasmid DNA) into a new 96-well plate was facilitatedthrough a HAMILTON MICROLAB® Starline liquid handling platform (LifeScience robotics, Hamilton Robotics). Subsequent mixed DNA was used forsmall scale transient transfection of 3 ml of suspension culturedExpi293F cells (Life Technologies, USA) at a density of 2.5×10⁶ cells/mlin 24-well tissue culture plates using the Expifectamine 293Transfection kit (Life Technologies, USA) in accordance withmanufacturer's instructions. Expi293F cells were maintained inpre-warmed (37° C.) sterile Expi293 expression media (Invitrogen)without antibiotics at 37° C., 7% CO₂, 120 rpm shaking. Supernatantswere harvested on day 6 and recombinant mAb expression was quantifiedusing anti-human IgG Fc sensors on an Octet QK^(e) (ForteBio, CA, USA)for identification of mAbs to upscale.

Large Scale Expression, Purification and QC of Recombinant mAbs

For downstream large scale mammalian transfections, where a greateramount of DNA was required, DNA was prepared using a QIAGEN Plasmid MaxiKit (QIAGEN, USA) according to manufacturer's instructions with typicalyields of 1.5 μg/μl.

For large scale mAb expression, 100 μg of total DNA (50 μg of HC plasmidDNA and 50 μg LC plasmid DNA) was used to transiently transfect 100 mlof suspension cultured Expi293F cells (Life Technologies, USA) at adensity of 2.5×10⁶ cells/ml using the Expifectamine 293 Transfection Kit(Life Technologies, USA) in accordance with the manufacturer'sinstructions. Supernatants were harvested on day 6 and recombinant mAbexpression was quantified as above using an Octet QK^(e) (ForteBio).Recombinant mAbs were purified via affinity based Fast Protein LiquidChromatography using HiTrap Protein A HP columns on an ÄKTA (GEHealthcare) and eluted in 20 mM citric acid, 150 nM NaCl (pH2.5) beforeneutralisation with 1 M Tris buffer (pH8). Purified mAbs were dialysedin PBS overnight and IgG concentration was quantified on a NanoVueSpectrophotometer (GE Healthcare). All purified recombinant mAbs werequality control checked via SDS-PAGE gel analysis using 4-12% Bis-TrisSDS-PAGE gels under reducing and non-reducing conditions to confirmmass, analytical size exclusion chromatography (SEC) to check forprotein aggregation/degradation and analytical mass spectrometry toconfirm the amino acid sequence identity of each mAb. Purifiedrecombinant mAbs were also tested for functionality by binding to targetantigen/whole cell via ELISA.

ELISA with Purified Recombinant mAbs

For confirmation of binding to target as purified recombinant mAbs anELISA was carried out using the protocol for B cell supernatant screen.The only change was that titrated purified recombinant mAb was added inplace of B cell supernatant.

Immunofluorescence Imaging of Anti-Hyr1 and Anti-Whole Cell mAbs Bindingto Fungal Cells

Indirect immunofluorescence was performed using purified recombinantmAbs. A single Candida colony was used to inoculate 10 ml YPD medium andincubated at 30° C., 200 rpm overnight. Overnight cultures were diluted1:1333 in milliQ water and then added to a poly-L-lysine coated glassslide (Thermo Scientific, Menzel-Glaser) and incubated for 30 min atroom temperature to allow for adherence of yeast cells to the slide. Toinduce filamentation, cells were incubated in pre-warmed RPMI+10% FCS at37° C. for 90 min-2 h (this step was omitted for staining of yeastcells), after which they were washed in Dulbecco's Phosphate BufferedSaline (DPBS) and fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde. Cells were washedagain and blocked with 1.5% normal goat serum (Life Technologies) beforestaining with an anti-Candida mAb at 1-10 μg/ml for 1 h at roomtemperature. After three PBS washes, cells were stained with AlexaFluor® 488 goat anti-human IgG antibody (Life Technologies) at a 1:400dilution and incubated at room temperature for 1 h in the dark. Foradditional staining of fungal cell wall chitin, Calcofluor White (CFW)was added at 25 μg/ml and cells were incubated for 10 min at roomtemperature in the dark and washed with DPBS. Slides were left to airdry before adding one drop of Vectashield mounting medium (Vector Labs)and applying a 20 mm×20 mm coverslip to the slide. Cells were imaged in3D on an UltraVIEW® VoX spinning disk confocal microscope (Nikon,Surrey, UK).

Preparation of Human Monocyte-Derived Macrophages

Human monocyte-derived macrophages were isolated from the blood ofhealthy volunteers. In brief, the PBMC layer was isolated as describedabove and was then washed and re-suspended in DMEM medium (Lonza,Slough, UK) supplemented with 200 U/ml penicillin/streptomycinantibiotics (Invitrogen, Paisley, UK) and 2 mM L-glutamine (Invitrogen,Paisley, UK). Serum was separated from blood using standard methods andheat-inactivated at 56° C. for 20 min before use. Monocytes wereisolated from PBMCs via positive selection using CD14 microbeads (MACS,Miltenyi Biotec) according to manufacturer's instructions. PBMCs wereincubated with MicroBeads conjugated to monoclonal anti-human CD14antibodies. Cells were then washed and run through an LS column in amagnetic field causing the CD14⁺ cells to be retained in the column andthe unlabelled cells to run through. The CD14⁺ cells were then elutedand resuspended in supplemented DMEM containing 10% donor-specificserum, for determination of cell count and viability. Monocytes werethen plated out at a density of 1.2×10⁵ cells/well in an 8-well glassbased imaging dish (Ibidi, Munich, Germany) and incubated at 37°, 5% CO₂for 7 days. Cells were used in imaging experiments on day 7. Immediatelyprior to phagocytosis experiments, supplemented DMEM was replaced withpre-warmed supplemented CO₂-independent media (Gibco, Invitrogen,Paisley, UK) containing 1 μM LysoTracker Red DND-99 (Invitrogen,Paisley, UK). LysoTracker Red is a fluorescent dye that stains acidiccompartments in live cells, enabling tracking of these cells duringphagocytosis and phagolysosome maturation.

Preparation of J774.1 Mouse Macrophage Cell Line

J774.1 macrophages (ECACC, HPA, Salisbury, UK) were maintained in tissueculture flasks in DMEM medium (Lonza, Slough, UK) supplemented with 10%(v/v) FCS (Biosera, Ringmer, UK), 200 U/ml penicillin/streptomycinantibiotics (Invitrogen, Paisley, UK) and 2 mM L-glutamine (Invitrogen,Paisley, UK) and incubated at 37° C., 5% CO₂. For phagocytosis assays,macrophages were seeded in 300 μl supplemented DMEM at a density of1×10⁵ cells/well in an 8-well glass based imaging dish (Ibidi, Munich,Germany) and incubated overnight at 37° C., 5% CO₂. Immediately prior tophagocytosis experiments, supplemented DMEM was replaced with 300 μlpre-warmed supplemented CO₂-independent media (Gibco, Invitrogen,Paisley, UK) containing 1 μM LysoTracker Red DND-99 (Invitrogen,Paisley, UK).

Preparation of Fluorescein Isothiocyanate (FITC)-Stained C. Albicans

C. albicans colonies were grown in YPD medium and incubated at 30° C.,200 rpm overnight. Live C. albicans cells were stained for 10 min atroom temperature in the dark with 1 mg/ml FITC (Sigma, Dorset, UK) in0.05 M carbonate-bicarbonate buffer (pH 9.6) (BDH Chemicals, VWRInternational, Leicestershire, UK). Following the 10 min incubation, inphagocytosis assays using C. albicans FITC-labelled yeast, the cellswere washed three times in 1×PBS to remove any residual FITC and finallyre-suspended in 1×PBS or 1×PBS containing purified anti-Candida mAb at1-50 μg/ml. For assays where pre-germinated C. albicans was to be addedto immune cells, cells were washed and re-suspended in supplementedCO₂-independent media with or without anti-Candida mAb at 1-50 μg/ml andincubated at 37° C. with gentle shaking for 45 min.

Live Cell Video Microscopy Phagocytosis Assays

Phagocytosis assays were performed using our standard protocol withmodifications (42, 43, 54). Following pre-incubation with/withoutanti-Candida mAb, live FITC-stained wild type C. albicans (CAI4-CIp10)yeast or hyphal cells were added to LysoTracker Red DND-99-stainedJ774.1 murine macrophages or human monocyte-derived macrophages in an8-well glass based imaging dish (Ibidi) at a multiplicity of infection(MOI) of 3. Video microscopy was performed using an UltraVIEW® VoXspinning disk confocal microscope (Nikon, Surrey, UK) in a 37° C.chamber and images were captured at 1 min intervals over a 3 h period.At least three independent experiments were performed for each antibodyand at least 2 videos were analysed from each experiment using Volocity6.3 imaging analysis software (Improvision, PerkinElmer, Coventry, UK).Twenty five macrophages were selected at random from each experiment andanalysed individually at 1 min intervals over a 3 h period. Measurementstaken included: C. albicans uptake—defined as the number of C. albicanscells taken up by an individual phagocyte over the 3 h period; C.albicans rate of engulfment—defined as the time point at which cell-cellcontact was established until the time point at which C. albicans wasfully engulfed (a fungal cell was considered to have been fully ingestedwhen its FITC-fluorescent signal was lost, indicating that the fungalcell was now inside the phagocyte and not merely bound to the phagocytecell surface) and finally Volocity 6.3 imaging analysis software wasused to measure the distance travelled, directionality and velocity ofmacrophages at 1 min intervals during the first hour of the assay whichprovided a detailed overview of macrophage migration towards C. albicanscells.

Mean values and standard deviations were calculated. One- or two-wayANOVA followed by Bonferroni multiple comparison tests or unpaired,two-tailed t tests were used to determine statistical significance.

Systemic Candidiasis Infection Model

A well-established three-day model of disseminated candidiasis wasemployed to assess the efficacy of anti-Candida mAbs in vivo (44, 52).On day 0, ˜3.2×10⁵ C. albicans SC5314 yeast cells were pre-incubated atRT with 7.5 mg/kg purified recombinant anti-Candida mAb for 60 min toallow binding of the antibody to the Candida cell surface beforeadministration intravenously via the lateral tail vein. Assessment ofdisease progression was carried out by observation and weighing onsuccessive days from day 0 up to and including day 3, at which point theanimals were culled and the kidneys harvested for analysis of fungalburden. Fungal burdens were quantitated by homogenising the organ, andplating out serial dilutions on Sabouraud dextrose agar plates (1%mycological peptone (w/v), 4% glucose (w/v), 2% agar (w/v)) beforeincubation at 35° C. overnight. Colonies were counted the next day andfungal burden expressed as log CFU per gram of infected organ. Anoverall disease outcome score devised from the combination of 3-dayweight loss and kidney burden data was also generated to assess diseaseprogression.

Enzymatic Modification of Candida Albicans Cell Wall

For proteinase K treatment, single colonies of Candida were inoculatedinto 10 ml YPD medium and incubated at 30° C., 200 rpm overnight.Cultures were diluted in milliQ water and then adhered on poly-L-lysinecoated glass slides. To induce filamentation, cells were incubated inpre-warmed RPMI+10% FCS at 37° C. for 90 min-2 h. Slides were washedwith DPBS and cells were treated with 50 μg/ml proteinase K at 37° C.for 1 h. For Endo-H and zymolyase 20T treatments, C. albicans overnightyeast cells were washed and resuspended in DPBS. Filamentous cells wereinduced as above. Cells were washed in DPBS and resuspended inGlycobuffer and Endoglycosidase H (10 U/μl; NEB) or Buffer S andZymolyase 20T (50 U/g wet cells; MPBIO) at 37° C. for 2 h. Cells werethen washed in DPBS and fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde, washed andblocked with 1.5% normal goat serum (Life Technologies) before stainingwith an anti-Candida mAb at 1 μg/ml for 1 h at room temperature. After 3washes with DPBS, cells were stained with Alexa Fluor® 488 goatanti-human IgG antibody (Life Technologies) at a 1:400 dilution andincubated at room temperature for 1 h prior to imaging in 3D on anUltraVIEW® VoX spinning disk confocal microscope (Nikon, Surrey, UK).

Preparation of Human Monocyte-Derived Macrophages

Human macrophages were derived from monocytes isolated from the blood ofhealthy volunteers. PBMCs were resuspended in Dulbecco's ModifiedEagle's Medium (DMEM) (Lonza, Slough, UK) supplemented with 200 U/mlpenicillin/streptomycin antibiotics (Invitrogen, Paisley, UK) and 2 mML-glutamine (Invitrogen, Paisley, UK). Serum isolated from blood washeat inactivated for 20 min at 56° C. PBMCs were seeded at 6×10⁵ in 300μl/well supplemented DMEM medium containing 10% autologous human serum,onto an 8-well glass based imaging dish (Ibidi, Munich, Germany) andincubated at 37° C. with 5% CO₂ for 1 h 45 min to facilitate monocyteadherence to the glass surface. Floating lymphocytes in the supernatantwere aspirated and the same volume of fresh pre-warmed supplemented DMEMcontaining 10% autologous human serum added to the well. Cells wereincubated at 37° C., 5% CO₂ for 7 days with media changed on days 3 and6. Cells were used in imaging experiments on day 7. Supplemented DMEMwas replaced with pre-warmed supplemented CO₂-independent mediacontaining 1 μM LysoTracker Red DND-99 (Invitrogen) immediately prior tophagocytosis experiments.

Counterimmunoelectrophoresis

Agar gels were prepared (Veronal buffer+0.5% (w/v) purified agar+0.5%(w/v) LSA agarose+0.05% (w/v) sodium azide, pH 8.2) and wells were cutout using a cutter. Into one column of wells, 10 μl of neat anti-CandidamAb was added. The same volume of antigen (crude C. albicans yeast orhyphal preparation (following glass bead disruption of cells and 1 mincentrifugation at 13000 rpm to generate disrupted cell wall/glass beadslurry and cell supernatant antigenic preparations)) was added to thesecond column of wells and gels were placed into an electrophoresis tankcontaining veronal buffer. Gels were oriented so that the antibody wellswere lined up alongside the anode and the antigen wells alongside thecathode due to antibody migration towards the cathode viaelectroendosmosis and antigen migration towards the anode due to lowerisoelectric points than the buffer pH. The gels were run at 100V for 90min before removal and immersion in saline-trisodium citrate overnight.The following day the gels were rinsed with water and covered withmoistened filter paper and left to dry in an oven for 2 h. Once dried,the filter paper was moistened and removed and the gels put back intothe oven for a further 15 min to dry completely. Gels were then immersedin Buffalo black solution (0.05% (v/v) Buffalo black, 50% (v/v)distilled water, 40% (v/v) methylated spirit, 10% (v/v) acetic acid) for10 min before destaining in destaining solution (45% (v/v) industrialmethylated spirits, 10% (v/v) acetic acid, 45% (v/v) distilled water)for 10 min. Gels were then dried and examined for the formation ofprecipitin lines. The results are shown in FIG. 17.

High-Pressure Freezing (HPF) of Samples for Immunogold Labelling of C.Albicans Cells with Anti-Candida mAbs for Transmission ElectronMicroscopy (TEM)

C. albicans yeast and hyphal cell samples were prepared by high-pressurefreezing using an EMPACT2 high-pressure freezer and rapid transportsystem (Leica Microsystems Ltd., Milton Keynes, United Kingdom). Using aLeica EMAFS2, cells were freeze-substituted in substitution reagent (1%(w/v) OsO4 in acetone) before embedding in Spurr resin and polymerizingat 60° C. for 48 h. A Diatome diamond knife on a Leica UC6ultramicrotome was used to cut ultrathin sections which were thenmounted onto nickel grids. Sections on nickel grids were blocked inblocking buffer (PBS+1% (w/v) BSA and 0.5% (v/v) Tween20) for 20 minbefore incubation in incubation buffer (PBS+0.1% (w/v) BSA) for 5 min×3.Sections were then incubated with anti-Candida mAb (5 μg/ml) for 90 minbefore incubation in incubation buffer for 5 min a total of 6 times. mAbbinding was detected by incubation with Protein A gold 10 nm conjugate(Aurion) (diluted 1:40 in incubation buffer) for 60 min before anothersix 5 min washes in incubation buffer followed by three 5 min washes inPBS and three 5 min washes in water. Sections were then stained withuranyl acetate for 1 min before three 2 min washes in water and thenleft to dry. TEM images were taken using a JEM-1400 Plus using an AMTUltraVUE camera. The results are shown in FIG. 18.

TABLE S1 Clinical isolates and strains Strain name Genotype ReferenceCA14 + Clp10 ura3Δ::λimm434/ura3Δ::λimm434 Brand et al. 2004 (NGY152)RPS1/rps1::URA3 hyr1Δ hyr1Δ::hisG/hyr1Δ: Bailey et al. 1996hisG-URA-3-hisG hyr1Δ + HYR1 hyr1::hisG/hyr1::hisG/ BelmonteRPS1/rps1::HYR1 (unpublished) tup1Δ tup1Δ::hisG/tup1Δ:: Fonzi & Irwin1993 hisG-URA3-hisG C. albicans Clinical isolate Gillum et al. 1984SC5314 C. glabrata Clinical isolate Odds et al. 2007 SCS71182B C.tropicalis Clinical isolate Clinical isolate from AM2005/0546 AberdeenC. lusitaniae Clinical isolate Odds et al. 2007 SCS211362H C. kruseiClinical isolate Odds et al. 2007 SCS71987M C. parapsilosis Clinicalisolate Rudek 1978 ATCC22019 C. dubliniensis Clinical isolate Moran etal. 1998 CD36 A. fumigatus Clinical isolate Netea et al. 2003 V05-27 C.auris Clinical isolate Satoh et al. 2009 CBS 109131 C. haemuloniiClinical isolate Khan et al. 2007 CBS 51491 C. neoformans H99 matingtype α Nielsen et al. 2003 KN99α C. gattii R265 Clinical isolate Fyfe etal. 2002 P. carinii Isolated from rat lung tissue — M167-6 M. dermatisCBS Sugita et al. 2002 CBS 9169 M. circinelloides CBS Li et al. 2011 CBS277.49

TABLE S2 Recombinant Hyr1 protein amino acid sequence.The leader sequence is underlined and the 6xHis tag is in italics,and is followed by the linker ‘G’. Hyr1 proteinamino acids 63-350 make up the remainder of the sequence.Recombinant protein Amino acid sequence antigen name(amino acids 63-350) SEQ ID NO: Recombinant Hyr1 N-METDTLLLWVLLLWVPGSTGGSG HHHHHHG 1 terminus fragmentEVEKGASLFIKSDNGPVLALNVALSTLVRP VINNGVISLNSKSSTSFSNFDIGGSSFTNNGEIYLASSGLVKSTAYLYAREWTNNGLIVA YQNQKAAGNIAFGTAYQTITNNGQICLRHQDFVPATKIKGTGCVTADEDTWIKLGNTILS VEPTHNFYLKDSKSSLIVHAVSSNQTFTVHGFGNGNKLGLTLPLTGNRDHFRFEYYPDTG ILQLRAAALPQYFKIGKGYDSKLFRIVNSRGLKNAVTYDGPVPNNEIPAVCLIPCTNGPS APESESDLNTPTTSSIGT

TABLE S3 Purified recombinant human IgG1 mAbs generated using the singleB cell technology. Antibody Yield (mg) Target AB-120 12 Hyr1 proteinAB-121 28.5 Hyr1 protein AB-122 67.9 Hyr1 protein AB-123 67.3 Hyr1protein AB-124 38.9 Hyr1 protein AB-118 7.5 C. albicans ‘whole cell’AB-119 13.5 C. albicans ‘whole cell’ AB-126 60.9 C. albicans ‘wholecell’ AB-127 24.5 C. albicans ‘whole cell’ AB-129 2.3 C. albicans ‘wholecell’ AB-130 1.1 C. albicans ‘whole cell’ AB-131 24.1 C. albicans ‘wholecell’ AB-132 9.3 C. albicans ‘whole cell’ AB-133 19 C. albicans ‘wholecell’ AB-134 7.7 C. albicans ‘whole cell’ AB-135 16.5 C. albicans ‘wholecell’ AB-139 12.2 C. albicans ‘whole cell’ AB-140 19.5 C. albicans‘whole cell’

TABLE VH SEQ AB VH ID name VH FW1 CDR1 VH FW2 VH CDR2 VH FW3 VH CDR3VH FW4 NO: 06- VH3 QVTLKESGGGLVQPG RTY WVRQDPG RLDEVGRLTRFTISRDNAKNILYLQMN DLSGSADY WGQGTLV 2 AB- GSLRLSCVASGFTF WMH KGLVWVSSYADSVNG SLRAEDTGVYYCAR TVSS 119 06- VH3 EVQLVESGGGLVQPG SNY WVRQVPGRINEDGSVT RFTISRDNAKNTLYLQM DLCGERDD WGQGTLV 3 AB- GSLRLSCSASQFIL WVHEGLVWVS SYADSVKG NSLRVDDTAVYYCVR SVSS 118 06- VH1 EVQLVQSGGGLVQPG TSYWVRQAPG VITGNVGTS RFTISRDNSKKTVSLQM TRYDFSSGYY WGQGTLV 4 AB-GSLGLSCAASGFIF AMT KGLEWVS YYADSVKG NSLRAEDTAIYYCVK FDD SVSS 120 06- VH3EVQLVESGGILVQPG SDY WVRQAPG NIKQDGSEK RVTISRDNAQNSVFLQM DGYTFGPATTWGRGTLV 5 AB- GSLRLSCAASGFTF WMN KGLEWVA YYVDSLRG HSLSVEDTAVYYCAR ELDHSVSS 121 06- VH3 EVQLVQSGGGLAQPG DDF WVRQPPG GLTINNGGSIRFTISRDNAKNSLFLQM GLSGGTMAPF WGQGTMV 6 AB- RSLRLSCAASGFGF AMH KGLEWVSDYAGSVRG NSLRAEDTALYYCAK DI SVSS 122 06- VH3 EVQLLESGGGVVQPG SNY WVRQAPGVVWFDGSY RFTISRDNSKSTLYLQM PIMTSAFDI WGPGTMV 7 AB- RSLRLSCAASGFTF GMHKGLEWVA KYYTDSVKG NSLRAEDTAVYYCVS SVSS 123 06- VH3 EVQLVESGGGVVQPG SNYWVRQAPG VVWLDGSY RFTISRDNSKSTLYLQM PIMTSAFDI WGPGTMV 8 AB-RSLRLSCAASGFTF GMH KGLEWVA KYYTGSVKG NSLRAEDTAAYYCVS TVSS 124 06- VH3EVQLVESGGGLAQPG AGN WVRQAPG AIGGSDDRT RFTISRDKSKNTLSLQM DIWRWAFDYWGQGTLV 9 AB- GSLRLSCEASGFHL AMA KGLEWVA DYADSVKG NSLRVEDTAVYYCAK SVSS126 06- VH3 EVQLVESGGGLVNPG SNY WVRQAPG SISRSGDYIY RSTISRDNAKNSLFLQMDWGRLGYCSS WGQGTRV 10 AB- GSLRLSCAASGFTF AMN KGLEWVS YADSLKGNSLRAEDSAVYYCAR NNCPDAFDV SVSS 127 06- VH3 QVQLVESGGGLVQPG SNY WVRQVPGRINEDGSVT RFTISRDNAKNTLYLQM DLCGERDD WGQGTLV 11 AB- GSLRLSCSASQFIL WVHEGLVWVS SYADSVKG NSLRVDDTAVYYCVR TVSS 129 06- VH3 QLQLQESGGGLVQPG SNYWVRQVPG RINEDGSVT RFTISRDNAKNTLYLQM DLCWERDD WGQGTLV 12 AB-3GSLRLSCSASQFIL WVH EGLVWVS SYADSVKG NSLRVDDTAVYYCVR SVSS 130 06- VH3QVQLVQSGGGVVQPG KISI WVRQAPG AMSYDGFSK RLTISRDSSTNTLYLEMN EAYTSGRAGCWGQGVLV 13 AB- GSLRLSCAASPFTF LH KGLEWVS YYADSVKG SLRFEDTALYFCAR FNPSVSS 131 06- VH3 QVLKESGGGVVQPGG ETSI WVRQAPG AMSYDGFSKRLTISRDSSTNTLYLEMN EAYTSGRAGC WGQGVLV 14 AB- SLRLSCAASPFTF LH KGLEWVSYYADSVKG SLRFEDTALYFCAR FDP SVSS 132 06- VH3 EVQLVESGGGLVQPG NTY WVRQAPGRINEDGTTIS RFTISRDNAENTLYLQM DFTGPFDS WGQGTLV 15 AB- GSLRVSCAASGFTL WMHKGLVWVS YADSVRG HSLRAEDTGVYYCAR SVSS 133 06- VH3 QLQLQESGGGLVQPG SSHWVRQAPG SISISGGDTF RFTIFRDNSKNTVYLQM ETSPNDY WGQGTLV 16 AB-GSLRLSCVVSGFTF AMS KGLEWVS YADSVRG NSLRAEDTAVYYCAT SVSS 134 06- VH3EVQLVETGGGLVQPG SSH WVRQAPG SISISGGDTF RFTIFRDNSKNTVYLQM ETSPNDY WGQGTLV17 AB- GSLRLSCVVSGFTF AMS KGLEWVS YADSVRG NSLRAEDTAVYYCAT TVSS 135 06-VH3 EVQLVESGGGLVQPG NTY WVRQAPG RINEDGTTIS RFTISRDNAENTLYLQM DFTGPFDSWGQGTLV 18 AB- GSLRVSCAASGFTL WMH KGLVWVS YADSVRG HSLRAEDTGVYYCAR SVSS139 06- VH3 EVQLVESGGGLVQPG NTY WVRQAPG RINEDGTTIS RFTISRDNAENTLYLQMDFTGPFDS WGQGTLV 19 AB- GSLRVSCAASGFTL WMH KGLVWVS YADSVRGHSLRAEDTGVYYCAR SVSS 140

TABLE VL SEQ AB VL ID name VL FW1 VL CDR1 VL FW2 CDR2 VL FW3 VL CDR3VL FW4 NO: 06-AB- VK2 DVVLTQSPLFLPVT RSSQSLLHS WYLQKPGQS SVFNGVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTL MQALEPPYT FGQGTKLE 20 119 PGEPASISC RGHTSLH PHLLIY RASKISRVEAEDVGVYYC IK 06-AB- VK2 DIVMTQSPLSLPVT RSSQSLLHR WYLQKPGQS LGSNGVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTL MQGLQTPY FGQGTKLE 21 118 PGEAASISC NGKTFFA PQILIY RASKISRVEAEDVGIYYC T IK 06-AB- VK1 DIVMTQSPSSVSAS RASQGISRW WYQQKPGEA AASSGVPSRFSGSGSGTDFTL QQANSFPIT FGQGTRL 22 120 VGDKVTITC LA PELLIY LQSTISSLQPEDFATYYC QIK 06-AB- VL3 QLVLTQPPSVSVSP SGDELRNKY WYQQKSGQS QDNNGIPERFSGSQSGDTATLT QAWVSQTL FGGGTKLT 23 121 GQTASITC TS PVLVIY RPSISGTQAVDEADYYC V VL 06-AB- VL3 QAGLTQPPSVSVA GGNNIGSKH WYQQKPGQA DDSDGVPERFSGSNSGNTATL QVWDRSSD FGGGTRLT 24 122 PGQTATIPC VH PVAVVY RPSTISSVEAGDEADYYC HFWL VL 06-AB- VL2 QLVLTQPPSASGS TGTSSDVGG WYQHHPGKAEVSQ GVPDRFSGSKSGNTASL SSYAGSVVL FGGGTKLT 25 123 PGQSVTISC SNFVS PKLMIYRPS TVSGLQADDEADYYC VL 06-AB- VL2 QLVLTQPPSASGS TGTSSDVGG WYQHHPGKA EVSQGVPDRFSGSKSGNTASL SSYAGSVVL FGGGTKLT 26 124 PGQSVTISC SNFVS PKLMIY RPSTVSGLQADDEADYYC VL 06-AB- VK3 DIVMTQSPATLSLS WASQYINTY WYQHKPGQA DASKGIPARFSGSGSGTDFTLT QQGSNWPL FGQGTRL 27 126 PGERATLSC VN PRLLIY RATISSLEPEDFAVYYC T EIK 06-AB- VK1 EIVMTQSPSFVSAS RASQDISNW WYQQKPGKA ASSNGVPSRFSGSGSGTDFAL QQENSFPY FGQGTKLE 28 127 VGDRVTITC LV PKLLIY LQSTIISLQPEDFATYYC T IK 06-AB- VK2 VIWMTQSPLSLPVT RSSQSLLHR WYLQKPGQS LGSNGVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTL MQGLQTPY FGQGTKLE 29 129 PGEAASISC NGRTFFA PQILIY RAFKISRVEAEDVGIYYC T IK 06-AB- VK2 VIWMTQSPLSLPVT RSSQSLLHR WYLQKPGQS LGSNGVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTL MQGLQTPY FGQGTKLE 30 130 PGEAASISC NGRTFFA PQILIY RAFKISRVEAEDVGIYYC T IK 06-AB- VK1 DIVMTQTPSTQSAS RASQSISIWL WYQQKPGKA DASTGVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTL QRYNDYPP FGPGTKVE 31 131 VGDRVTITC A PKLLIH LESTISSLQPDDSATYYC T IK 06-AB- VK1 EIVMTQSPSTQSAS RASQSISIWL WYQQKPGKA DASTGVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTL QRYNDYPP FGPGTKVE 32 132 VGDRVTITC A PKLLIH LESTISSLQPDDSATYYC T IK 06-AB- VL1 QSVLTQPPSVSGT SGSNSNAG WYQQVPGTA KNNQGVPDRFSGSKSGTSASL IVWDGSLSG FGTGTKVT 33 133 PGQRVTISC RDYVS PKLLIY RPSAISGLRSEDDGDYYC YV VL 06-AB- VL7 SYELTQPSSLTVSP GLSSGAVTS WFQQKPGQA DTSRWTPARFSGSLLGGKAAL LLACNGACV FGGGTKLT 34 134 GGTVTLTC GHYPY PKTLIF KHSTLSGAQPEDDADYYC VL 06-AB- VL7 SYELTQPSSLTVSP GLSSGAVTS WFQQKPGQA DTSRWTPARFSGSLLGGKAAL LLACNGACV FGGGTKLT 35 135 GGTVTLTC GHYPY PKTLIF KHSTLSGAQPEDDADYYC VL 06-AB- VL1 QSVLTQPPSVSGT SGSNSNVG WYQQVPGTA KNNRGVPDRFSGSKSGTSASL IVWDGSLSG FGTGTKVT 36 139 PGQRVTISC RDYVS PKLLIY RPSAISGLRSEDDGDYYC YV VL 06-AB- VL1 QLVLTQPPSVSGT SGSNSNVG WYQQVPGTA KNNQGVPDRFSGSKSGTSASL IVWDGSLSG FGTGTKVT 37 140 PGQRVTISC RDYVS PKLLIY RPSAISGLRSEDDGDYYC YV VL

Antibody Sequences and Seq ID No.s

TABLE A Antibody AB119 06-AB- SEQ 119 Sequence ID NO: VH FW1QVTLKESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCVASGFTF 38 VH CDR1 RTYVVMH 39 VH FW2WVRQDPGKGLVWVS 40 VH CDR2 RLDEVGRLTSYADSVNG 41 VH FW3RFTISRDNAKNILYLQMNSLRAEDTGVYYCAR 42 VH CDR3 DLSGSADY 43 VH FW4WGQGTLVTVSS 44 VL FW1 DVVLTQSPLFLPVTPGEPASISC 45 VL CDR1RSSQSLLHSRGHTSLH 46 VL FW2 WYLQKPGQSPHLLIY 47 VL CDR2 SVFNRAS 48 VL FW3GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDVGVYYC 49 VL CDR3 MQALEPPYT 50 VL FW4FGQGTKLEIK 51

TABLE B Antibody AB118 06-AB- SEQ 118 Sequence ID NO: VH FW1EVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCSASQFIL 52 VH CDR1 SNYWVH 53 VH FW2 WVRQVPGEGLVWVS54 VH CDR2 RINEDGSVTSYADSVKG 55 VH FW3 RFTISRDNAKNTLYLQMNSLRVDDTAVYYCVR56 VH CDR3 DLCGERDD 57 VH FW4 WGQGTLVSVSS 58 VL FW1DIVMTQSPLSLPVTPGEAASISC 59 VL CDR1 RSSQSLLHRNGKTFFA 60 VL FW2WYLQKPGQSPQILIY 61 VL CDR2 LGSNRAS 62 VL FW3GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDVGIYYC 63 VL CDR3 MQGLQTPYT 64 VL FW4FGQGTKLEIK 65

TABLE C Antibody AB120 06-AB- SEQ 120 Sequence ID NO: VH FW1EVQLVQSGGGLVQPGGSLGLSCAASGFIF 66 VH CDR1 TSYAMT 67 VH FW2 WVRQAPGKGLEWVS68 VH CDR2 VITGNVGTSYYADSVKG 69 VH FW3 RFTISRDNSKKTVSLQMNSLRAEDTAIYYCVK70 VH CDR3 TRYDFSSGYYFDD 71 VH FW4 WGQGTLVSVSS 72 VL FW1DIVMTQSPSSVSASVGDKVTITC 73 VL CDR1 RASQGISRWLA 74 VL FW2 WYQQKPGEAPELLIY75 VL CDR2 AASSLQS 76 VL FW3 GVPSRFSGSGSGTDFTLTISSLQPEDFATYYC 77 VL CDR3QQANSFPIT 78 VL FW4 FGQGTRLQIK 79

TABLE D Antibody AB121 06-AB- SEQ 121 Sequence ID NO: VH FW1EVQLVESGGTLVQPGGSLRLSCAASGFTF 80 VH CDR1 SDYWMN 81 VH FW2 WVRQAPGKGLEWVA82 VH CDR2 NIKQDGSEKYYVDSLRG 83 VH FW3 RVTISRDNAQNSVFLQMHSLSVEDTAVYYCAR84 VH CDR3 DGYTFGPATTELDH 85 VH FW4 WGRGTLVSVSS 86 VL FW1QLVLTQPPSVSVSPGQTASITC 87 VL CDR1 SGDELRNKYTS 88 VL FW2 WYQQKSGQSPVLVIY89 VL CDR2 QDNNRPS 90 VL FW3 GIPERFSGSQSGDTATLTISGTQAVDEADYYC 91 VL CDR3QAWVSQTLV 92 VL FW4 FGGGTKLTVL 93

TABLE E Antibody AB122 06-AB- SEQ 122 Sequence ID NO: VH FW1EVQLVQSGGGLAQPGRSLRLSCAASGFGF 94 VH CDR1 DDFAMH 95 VH FW2 WVRQPPGKGLEWVS96 VH CDR2 GLTWNGGSIDYAGSVRG 97 VH FW3 RFTISRDNAKNSLFLQMNSLRAEDTALYYCAK98 VH CDR3 GLSGGTMAPFDI 99 VH FW4 WGQGTMVSVSS 100 VL FW1QAGLTQPPSVSVAPGQTATIPC 101 VL CDR1 GGNNIGSKHVH 102 VL FW2WYQQKPGQAPVAVVY 103 VL CDR2 DDSDRPS 104 VL FW3GVPERFSGSNSGNTATLTISSVEAGDEADYYC 105 VL CDR3 QVWDRSSDHFWL 106 VL FW4FGGGTRLTVL 107

TABLE F Antibody AB123 06-AB- SEQ ID 123 Sequence NO: VH FW1EVQLLESGGGVVQPGRS 108 LRLSCAASGFTF VH CDR1 SNYGMH 109 VH FW2WVRQAPGKGLEWVA 110 VH CDR2 VVWFDGSYKYYTDSVKG 111 VH FW3RFTISRDNSKSTLYLQM 112 NSLRAEDTAVYYCVS VH CDR3 PIMTSAFDI 113 VH FW4WGPGTMVSVSS 114 VL FW1 QLVLTQPPSASGSPGQS 115 VTISC VL CDR1TGTSSDVGGSNFVS 116 VL FW2 WYQHHPGKAPKLMIY 117 VL CDR2 EVSQRPS 118 VL FW3GVPDRFSGSKSGNTASL 119 TVSGLQADDEADYYC VL CDR3 SSYAGSVVL 120 VL FW4FGGGTKLTVL 121

TABLE G Antibody AB124 06-AB- SEQ ID 124 Sequence NO: VH FW1EVQLVESGGGVVQPGRS 122 LRLSCAASGFTF VH CDR1 SNYGMH 123 VH FW2WVRQAPGKGLEWVA 124 VH CDR2 VVWLDGSYKYYTGSVKG 125 VH FW3RFTISRDNSKSTLYLQM 126 NSLRAEDTAAYYCVS VH CDR3 PIMTSAFDI 127 VH FW4WGPGTMVTVSS 128 VL FW1 QLVLTQPPSASGSPGQS 129 VTISC VL CDR1TGTSSDVGGSNFVS 130 VL FW2 WYQHHPGKAPKLMIY 131 VL CDR2 EVSQRPS 132 VL FW3GVPDRFSGSKSGNTASL 133 TVSGLQADDEADYYC VL CDR3 SSYAGSVVL 134 VL FW4FGGGTKLTVL 135

TABLE H Antibody AB126 06-AB- SEQ ID 126 Sequence NO: VH FW1EVQLVESGGGLAQPGGS 136 LRLSCEASGFHL VH CDR1 AGNAMA 137 VH FW2WVRQAPGKGLEWVA 138 VH CDR2 AIGGSDDRTDYADSVKG 139 VH FW3RFTISRDKSKNTLSLQM 140 NSLRVEDTAVYYCAK VH CDR3 DIWRWAFDY 141 VH FW4WGQGTLVSVSS 142 VL FW1 DIVMTQSPATLSLSPGE 143 RATLSC VL CDR1 WASQYINTYVN144 VL FW2 WYQHKPGQAPRLLIY 145 VL CDR2 DASKRAT 146 VL FW3GIPARFSGSGSGTDFTL 147 TISSLEPEDFAVYYC VL CDR3 QQGSNWPLT 148 VL FW4FGQGTRLEIK 149

TABLE I Antibody AB127 06-AB- SEQ ID 127 Sequence NO: VH FW1EVQLVESGGGLVNPGGS 150 LRLSCAASGFTF VH CDR1 SNYAMN 151 VH FW2WVRQAPGKGLEWVS 152 VH CDR2 SISRSGDYIYYADSLKG 153 VH FW3RSTISRDNAKNSLFLQM 154 NSLRAEDSAVYYCAR VH CDR3 DWGRLGYCSSNNCPDAF 155 DVVH FW4 WGQGTRVSVSS 156 VL FW1 EIVMTQSPSFVSASVGD 157 RVTITC VL CDR1RASQDISNWLV 158 VL FW2 WYQQKPGKAPKLLIY 159 VL CDR2 ASSNLQS 160 VL FW3GVPSRFSGSGSGTDFAL 161 TIISLQPEDFATYYC VL CDR3 QQENSFPYT 162 VL FW4FGQGTKLEIK 163

TABLE J Antibody AB129 06-AB- SEQ ID 129 Sequence NO: VH FW1QVQLVESGGGLVQPGGS 164 LRLSCSASQFIL VH CDR1 SNYWVH 165 VH FW2WVRQVPGEGLVWVS 166 VH CDR2 RINEDGSVTSYADSVKG 167 VH FW3RFTISRDNAKNTLYLQM 168 NSLRVDDTAVYYCVR VH CDR3 DLCGERDD 169 VH FW4WGQGTLVTVSS 170 VL FW1 VIWMTQSPLSLPVTPGE 171 AASISC VL CDR1RSSQSLLHRNGRTFFA 172 VL FW2 WYLQKPGQSPQILIY 173 VL CDR2 LGSNRAF 174VL FW3 GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTL 175 KISRVEAEDVGIYYC VL CDR3 MQGLQTPYT 176VL FW4 FGQGTKLEIK 177

TABLE K Antibody AB130 06-AB- SEQ ID 130 Sequence NO: VH FW1QLQLQESGGGLVQPGGS 178 LRLSCSASQFIL VH CDR1 SNYWVH 179 VH FW2WVRQVPGEGLVWVS 180 VH CDR2 RINEDGSVTSYADSVKG 181 VH FW3RFTISRDNAKNTLYLQM 182 NSLRVDDTAVYYCVR VH CDR3 DLCWERDD 183 VH FW4WGQGTLVSVSS 184 VL FW1 VIWMTQSPLSLPVTPGE 185 AASISC VL CDR1RSSQSLLHRNGRTFFA 186 VL FW2 WYLQKPGQSPQILIY 187 VL CDR2 LGSNRAF 188VL FW3 GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTL 189 KISRVEAEDVGIYYC VL CDR3 MQGLQTPYT 190VL FW4 FGQGTKLEIK 191

TABLE L Antibody AB131 06-AB- SEQ ID 131 Sequence NO: VH FW1QVQLVQSGGGVVQPGGS 192 LRLSCAASPFTF VH CDR1 KTSILH 193 VH FW2WVRQAPGKGLEWVS 194 VH CDR2 AMSYDGFSKYYADSVKG 195 VH FW3RLTISRDSSTNTLYLEM 196 NSLRFEDTALYFCAR VH CDR3 EAYTSGRAGCFNP 197 VH FW4WGQGVLVSVSS 198 VL FW1 DIVMTQTPSTQSASVGD 199 RVTITC VL CDR1 RASQSISIWLA200 VL FW2 WYQQKPGKAPKLLIH 201 VL CDR2 DASTLES 202 VL FW3GVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTL 203 TISSLQPDDSATYYC VL CDR3 QRYNDYPPT 204 VL FW4FGPGTKVEIK 205

TABLE M Antibody AB132 06-AB- SEQ ID 132 Sequence NO: VH FW1QVLKESGGGVVQPGGSL 206 RLSCAASPFTF VH CDR1 ETSILH 207 VH FW2WVRQAPGKGLEWVS 208 VH CDR2 AMSYDGFSKYYADSVKG 209 VH FW3RLTISRDSSTNTLYLEM 210 NSLRFEDTALYFCAR VH CDR3 EAYTSGRAGCFDP 211 VH FW4WGQGVLVSVSS 212 VL FW1 EIVMTQSPSTQSASVGD 213 RVTITC VL CDR1 RASQSISIWLA214 VL FW2 WYQQKPGKAPKLLIH 215 VL CDR2 DASTLES 216 VL FW3GVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTL 217 TISSLQPDDSATYYC VL CDR3 QRYNDYPPT 218 VL FW4FGPGTKVEIK 219

TABLE N Antibody AB133 06-AB- SEQ ID 133 Sequence NO: VH FW1EVQLVESGGGLVQPGGS 220 LRVSCAASGFTL VH CDR1 NTYWMH 221 VH FW2WVRQAPGKGLVWVS 222 VH CDR2 RINEDGTTISYADSVRG 223 VH FW3RFTISRDNAENTLYLQM 224 HSLRAEDTGVYYCAR VH CDR3 DFTGPFDS 225 VH FW4WGQGTLVSVSS 226 VL FW1 QSVLTQPPSVSGTPGQR 227 VTISC VL CDR1 SGSNSNAGRDYVS228 VL FW2 WYQQVPGTAPKLLIY 229 VL CDR2 KNNQRPS 230 VL FW3GVPDRFSGSKSGTSASL 231 AISGLRSEDDGDYYC VL CDR3 IVWDGSLSGYV 232 VL FW4FGTGTKVTVL 233

TABLE O Antibody AB134 06-AB- SEQ ID 134 Sequence NO: VH FW1QLQLQESGGGLVQPGGS 234 LRLSCVVSGFTF VH CDR1 SSHAMS 235 VH FW2WVRQAPGKGLEWVS 236 VH CDR2 SISISGGDTFYADSVRG 237 VH FW3RFTIFRDNSKNTVYLQM 238 NSLRAEDTAVYYCAT VH CDR3 ETSPNDY 239 VH FW4WGQGTLVSVSS 240 VL FW1 SYELTQPSSLTVSPGGT 241 VTLTC VL CDR1GLSSGAVTSGHYPY 242 VL FW2 WFQQKPGQAPKTLIF 243 VL CDR2 DTSRKHS 244 VL FW3WTPARFSGSLLGGKAAL 245 TLSGAQPEDDADYYC VL CDR3 LLACNGACV 246 VL FW4FGGGTKLTVL 247

TABLE P Antibody AB135 06-AB- SEQ ID 135 Sequence NO: VH FW1EVQLVETGGGLVQPGGS 248 LRLSCVVSGFTF VH CDR1 SSHAMS 249 VH FW2WVRQAPGKGLEWVS 250 VH CDR2 SISISGGDTFYADSVRG 251 VH FW3RFTIFRDNSKNTVYLQM 252 NSLRAEDTAVYYCAT VH CDR3 ETSPNDY 253 VH FW4WGQGTLVTVSS 254 VL FW1 SYELTQPSSLTVSPGGT 255 VTLTC VL CDR1GLSSGAVTSGHYPY 256 VL FW2 WFQQKPGQAPKTLIF 257 VL CDR2 DTSRKHS 258 VL FW3WTPARFSGSLLGGKAAL 259 TLSGAQPEDDADYYC VL CDR3 LLACNGACV 260 VL FW4FGGGTKLTVL 261

TABLE Q Antibody AB139 06-AB- SEQ ID 139 Sequence NO: VH FW1EVQLVESGGGLVQPGGS 262 LRVSCAASGFTL VH CDR1 NTYWMH 263 VH FW2WVRQAPGKGLVWVS 264 VH CDR2 RINEDGTTISYADSVRG 265 VH FW3RFTISRDNAENTLYLQM 266 HSLRAEDTGVYYCAR VH CDR3 DFTGPFDS 267 VH FW4WGQGTLVSVSS 268 VL FW1 QSVLTQPPSVSGTPGQR 269 VTISC VL CDR1 SGSNSNVGRDYVS270 VL FW2 WYQQVPGTAPKLLIY 271 VL CDR2 KNNRRPS 272 VL FW3GVPDRFSGSKSGTSASL 273 AISGLRSEDDGDYYC VL CDR3 IVWDGSLSGYV 274 VL FW4FGTGTKVTVL 275

TABLE R Antibody AB140 06-AB- SEQ ID 140 Sequence NO: VH FW1EVQLVESGGGLVQPGGS 276 LRVSCAASGFTL VH CDR1 NTYWMH 277 VH FW2WVRQAPGKGLVWVS 278 VH CDR2 RINEDGTTISYADSVRG 279 VH FW3RFTISRDNAENTLYLQM 280 HSLRAEDTGVYYCAR VH CDR3 DFTGPFDS 281 VH FW4WGQGTLVSVSS 282 VL FW1 QLVLTQPPSVSGTPGQR 283 VTISC VL CDR1 SGSNSNVGRDYVS284 VL FW2 WYQQVPGTAPKLLIY 285 VL CDR2 KNNQRPS 286 VL FW3GVPDRFSGSKSGTSASL 287 AISGLRSEDDGDYYC VL CDR3 IVWDGSLSGYV 288 VL FW4FGTGTKVTVL 289

TABLE VH-CDR3-MOD (Variant SEQ of Light or ID SEQ ID Heavy CDR3 NO: NO:)06-AB-118.HeavyC101A DLAGERDD 290 57 06-AB-118.HeavyC101S DLSGERDD 29157 06-AB-127.HeavyWY DWGRLGYWSSNNY 292 155 PDAFDV 06-AB-127.HeavyAADWGRLGYASSNNA 293 155 PDAFDV 06-AB-131.HeavyW EAYTSGRAGWFNP 294 19706-AB-131.HeavyA EAYTSGRAGAFNP 295 197 06-AB-132.HeavyW EAYTSGRAGWFDP296 211 06-AB-132.HeavyA EAYTSGRAGAFDP 297 211 06-AB-129.HeavyW DLWGERDD298 169 06-AB-129.HeavyA DLAGERDD 299 169

TABLE VL-CDR3-MOD 06-AB-134.LightYW LLAYNGAWV 300 246 06-AB-134.LightAALLAANGAAV 301 246 06-AB-135.LightYW LLAYNGAWV 302 260 06-AB-135.LightAALLAANGAAV 303 260

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1-42. (canceled)
 43. A method comprising contacting a Candida cell withan anti-Candida antibody molecule, wherein the anti-Candida antibodymolecule is a whole antibody comprising a VH domain comprising: (i) aHCDR1 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 277; (ii) a HCDR2having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 279; and (iii) a HCDR3having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 281; and a VL domaincomprising: (i) a LCDR1 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:284; (ii) a LCDR2 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 286; and(iii) a LCDR3 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 288, whereinthe binding of the anti-Candida antibody to the Candida cell (i)opsonises, or increases the rate of opsonisation of the Candida cell; or(ii) increases the rate of macrophage engulfment of the Candida cell; or(iii]) increases the rate of macrophage attraction to the Candida cell.44. A method of treatment of a Candida infection comprisingadministering an anti-Candida antibody molecule to an individual in needthereof, wherein the antibody molecule is a whole antibody comprising aVH domain comprising: (i) a HCDR1 having the amino acid sequence of SEQID NO: 277; (ii) a HCDR2 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:279; and (iii) a HCDR3 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 281;and a VL domain comprising: (i) a LCDR1 having the amino acid sequenceof SEQ ID NO: 284; (ii) a LCDR2 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ IDNO: 286; and (iii) a LCDR3 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:288.
 45. A method according to claim 44, wherein the fungal infection iscaused by C. albicans and wherein the infection is in a hyphal or yeastphase.
 46. A method according to claim 44, wherein the treatment furthercomprises administering an additional antifungal agent.
 47. A method fordetecting the presence or absence of a fungus which is a Candida spp,the method comprising (i) contacting a sample suspected of containingthe fungus with an anti-Candida antibody molecule, and (ii) determiningwhether the anti-Candida antibody molecule binds to the sample, bindingof the antibody molecule to the sample indicates the presence of thefungus, and wherein the anti-Candida antibody molecule comprises a VHdomain comprising: (i) a HCDR1 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ IDNO: 277; (ii) a HCDR2 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 279;and (iii) a HCDR3 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 281; anda VL domain comprising (i) a LCDR1 having the amino acid sequence of SEQID NO: 284; (ii) a LCDR2 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:286; and (iii) a LCDR3 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 288.48. A lateral flow device (LFD) for detecting the presence of an analytewhich is a fungal pathogen in a sample fluid, wherein said LFDcomprises: (i) a housing, and ii) at least one flow path leading from asample well to a viewing window, wherein said flow path comprises one ormore carriers along which the sample fluid is capable of flowing bycapillary action, and wherein the one or more carriers comprise ananalyte-detecting means; wherein the presence of analyte produces a linein the viewing window which indicates the presence of the fungalpathogen, wherein the fungal pathogen is a Candida spp. and the at leastone analyte-detecting means is an anti-Candida antibody moleculecomprising a VH domain comprising: (i) a HCDR1 having the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO: 277; (ii) a HCDR2 having the amino acid sequenceof SEQ ID NO: 279; and (iii) a HCDR3 having the amino acid sequence ofSEQ ID NO: 281; and a VL domain comprising: (i) a LCDR1 having the aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 284; (ii) a LCDR2 having the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO: 286; and (iii) a LCDR3 having the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:
 288. 49. The device as claimed in claim 48,wherein the one or more carriers comprises a plurality ofanalyte-detecting means, each analyte-detecting means is specific for adifferent fungal pathogen, and wherein the plurality ofanalyte-detecting means are capable of distinguishing between multiplefungal pathogens.
 50. The device as claimed in claim 49, wherein themultiple fungal pathogens comprise C. albicans, and at least one fungusselected from the group consisting of Aspergillus fumigatus,Cryptococcus neoformans, Pneumocystis jirovecii, a zygomycete fungus,and a skin dermatophytic fungus.
 51. The method according to claim 44,wherein the VH domain comprises at least one sequence selected from thefollowing: (i) a FW1 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 276;(ii) a FW2 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 278; (iii) a FW3having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 280; and (iv) a FW4 havingthe amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 282. 52. The method according toclaim 44, wherein the VL domain comprises at least one sequence selectedfrom the following: (i) a FW1 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ IDNO: 283; (ii) a FW2 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 285;(iii) a FW3 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 287; and (iv) aFW4 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 289. 53. The methodaccording to claim 44, wherein the VH domain and the VL domain haveamino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 19 and SEQ ID NO: 37, respectively.54. The method of claim 44, wherein the fungal infection is caused by aspecies selected from the group consisting of C. albicans, C.dubliniensis, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis and C. lusitaniae.
 55. Themethod of claim 46, wherein the additional antifungal agent is an azole,a polyene or an echinocandin.
 56. A method comprising contacting aCandida cell with an anti-Candida antibody molecule, wherein theanti-Candida antibody molecule comprises a VH domain comprising: (i) aHCDR1 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 277; (ii) a HCDR2having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 279; and (iii) a HCDR3having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 281; and a VL domaincomprising: (i) a LCDR1 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:284; (ii) a LCDR2 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 286; and(iii) a LCDR3 having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 288, whereinthe anti-Candida antibody molecule binds to the Candida cell or a hyphaeof the cell, and wherein the method further comprises detecting thebound anti-Candida antibody to identify or detect the Candida cell or ahyphae of the Candida cell.